Fumetsu no Senshitachi Z : Everlasting Z Warriors
by Aoikami Sarah
Summary: If Trunks were born a girl... how would Bra deal with the Mirai world? Androids 18, 17, and Cell, and more challenges lie ahead. Featuring Bulma, Gohan, Bra, Nameks, Cell, a trip to Hell and back and the end of the world... a few more times.
1. Part 1 Chapter 1

**Fumetsu no Senshi Tachi Z**

An Alternate Mirai Dragon Ball Z Fan Fiction by Aoikami Sarah

_Written January 30th – February 23rd 2000 - Revised February 2008_

**Part One - Chapter One**

Dozens of tired humans sat close together in the back of a truck. It bounced along at high speeds on a dirt road in the late afternoon. It wasn't safe to be out in broad daylight, but it wasn't safe anywhere. Some said that the murderers could feel your presence no matter where you were.

B.B. thought this was an exaggeration. Although the murderers were legendary, she doubted that they were supernatural. The few eye-witnesses claimed to have seen them fly, but that could be explained by technology. Although she had never seen them herself she had been quite close to them many times and always managed to come away unscathed. For this reason, those who traveled with her thought her to be a lucky charm.

She was a tough yet sweet, charismatic young girl and people tended to gravitate towards her, perhaps especially because she was strong enough that she could defend against gangs of marauding bandits looking for food or capsules or defenseless women. Although her frame didn't appear to be any stronger than the average teenage girl, B.B. could deck a full grown man in the face and send him crying for his mama.

Today, she was relatively alone. The people who were with her now had only been traveling with her for a few months. That was the way it usually went. B.B. would just get to know a group of people then they would get attacked. One or two of them would survive and she would start all over again with a new group. This cycle had gone on for as long as she could remember.

B.B.'s long, lavender hair fell into her face as he head nodded down. She was finally drifting off to sleep when the transport lurched to a sudden halt. Before the explosion got everyone else up she was on her feet and saw a fireball arch in front of the truck and knew instantly what it meant. They were here.

The truck her own transport had been following had exploded. People shrieked and began to panic. B.B. tore the truck's back gate open and helped everyone out. She barked orders to those whose fear overrode their common sense. With horror, she began to realize that they were in the middle of nowhere. There was nowhere to run. She leapt out of the truck bed and made sure that everyone was together and running away. B.B. collided with a man who was just staring back at the truck, paralyzed by fear and unable to move.

"Come on! Run!" she screamed and pushed him. He snapped out of it and charged after the others. B.B. knew that looking back was a stupid idea, but there wasn't even so much as a tree to hide behind out here on the plains. She spun and caught her first glimpse of the monsters people simply called 'the murderers'.

They lighted a few yards away and began walking leisurely towards her. One was a young man with shoulder length black hair wearing an orange neckerchief. The other was a young woman with blond hair. B.B. balled her fists and clenched her teeth. She couldn't believe they looked so normal. The idea that she might be wrong about them disappeared as they raised their hands and began firing energy blasts from their palms at the fleeing humans. B.B. stood her ground. As they approached the man sneered at her and ceased fire. He came to a stop only a few feet from her and stared.

"What?" he asked in a very nonchalant tone.

"Stop this," she managed to say without stuttering.

"Why?"

"Because it's wrong."

He laughed at this. "You hear that Juuhachigou?"

"Mm?" She ceased her fire and walked over to him. She scrunched up her nose as she noticed B.B. "What are you doing?"

"I suppose I'm having a conversation," he replied snidely. "This human wants us to know that what we're doing is _wrong_."

"Really?"

B.B. hoped in vain that they'd see the light - that all they needed was to be told this and they would stop.

"Well, I'm sorry to inform you, little human, but we don't care." The man raised his hand to finish her.

"Juunanagou, Wait!" Juuhachigou grabbed his arm and smiled. "Don't kill it yet, please?"

"Why? You want to torture it? I don't think that would be much fun. It's not afraid of us."

"Well, not necessarily. I want to keep it."

"_What_?" Juunanagou's eyes bulged. "You can't be serious."

The blond shrugged. "I always wanted a pet."

B.B. had them fooled for now; she was terrified. They weren't going to kill her, at least not yet. She was ready to die but she always wished that her death would be quick. She'd seen too many wounded people die slow deaths in her short lifetime. If they were going to play around with her, it might take a while and she didn't think she could handle that and still keep her cool. Hey mind reeled as she tried to think of what to do or say next.

"That's ridiculous! I'm going to kill her." Juunanagou raised his hand again. B.B. panicked. The others were still running away, but if she could delay the murderers a little longer, she thought, maybe more people would survive. She growled and charged the man called Number Seventeen. He blocked her punches easily, but she didn't quit. Her energy level rose as she fought. Juunanagou yawned as he batted her away. She landed in a pile a few hundred feet from him. He laughed to his blond companion and got ready to fire off the killing blow. B.B. got to her feet and staggered towards him. Both murderers looked surprised that she was able to do this. Juunanagou made a face and charged up. B.B. did the same.

"Juunanagou, don't! Can't you feel that?" The blond jumped in front of him. "I haven't felt a human ki like that in a long time. She's got potential."

"What do you mean, potential?"

"Think about it. If she gets strong enough, she may be a fun match for us!"

The word 'fun' sparked Juunanagou's interest. "What are you suggesting, my Sister? That we keep her and train her ourselves?"

B.B. was surprised to hear him call her by a gender pronoun. She stood and furrowed her brows at them. Juuhachigou approached her.

"Would you like that? To become strong enough to fight us, hm?" She looked the girl up and down. "Would you like to live?"

B.B. didn't answer her. Juuhachigou smiled and nodded. "I'll take that as a 'yes'." She stepped forward, grasped the girl around the waist and flew off. Her brother wasn't happy. He sneered, darted after the few remaining humans, mowed them down and took off after Juuhachigou.

**.x.**

The murderers took B.B. to a mansion they had taken as their own. Juunanagou watched B.B. as Juuhachigou fashioned a cage from steel I-beams. She bent the last one into place and pushed the girl into the enclosure.

"We're going out to have some fun. We'll be back later, ok?" she talked to her as one would talk to a puppy. "Bye-bye!" She turned to leave. B.B. stood stubbornly in the middle of the enclosure. "Oh! I almost forgot! I have to name you!"

She blinked at the woman and growled. "I have a name."

"Oh?" She seemed disappointed. "What is it?"

"B.B."

Juuhachigou rolled her eyes. She spied a bracelet gleaming on the girl's wrist. "Initials, huh?" The letters B.B. flashed in the light. "That's awful. I'll have to rename you."

"Well, least I'm not a number."

"Defiance. Different." She scowled at her pet briefly before smiling. "I like it. Take care, my pet. Oh, and by the way, if you try to leave us, my brother _will_ kill you."

Juunanagou sneered and flicked his index finger off the tip of his nose at her. The siblings left her alone in the dusk.

**.x.**

B.B. woke in the corner of the cage. Two days had gone by and still they hadn't returned. Her stomach growled and she shook with hunger. Even a rat she could catch and eat would do, but there were surprisingly no vermin in the room that she could see. She had to get out. After pacing the walls and poking and prodding she discovered that the weakest part was a beam which Juuhachigou had bent twice before deciding on its shape. B.B. had once been able to lift a car off an injured child, so she prayed that her hunger would give her the psychotic strength she had mustered on that day.

Her hunger was unusual. She frightened people with the amounts of food she could put away. Having gone without for forty-eight hours, B.B. was practically foaming at the mouth. She squared her stance, spit in her hands and gripped the I-beam.

"Come on, you!!" she cried as she pulled at it as hard as she could. Her stomach urged her on. Soon, the beam began to slowly bend. B.B. laughed maniacally as she saw her progress and screamed out as she gave it her all. At last, the bar gaped sufficiently and she fell as her strength gave out. B.B. laughed crazily, stood and rubbed her rear. "Now for some food!" She danced out of the cage and took off in search of something to eat.

"Here Koneko, Koneko! I brought you some toys!" Juuhachigou called sweetly as she entered the house. She had a bag over her shoulder.

"Honestly, Juuhachi, this is just weird."

Juunanagou snorted then burst out laughing at the look on his sister's face as she took in the empty cage. She dropped the bag and gaped at the bent bars. Boxing gloves, weights, clothes and the like spilled from the bag. She fumed.

"I'll go get her." Juunanagou offered then affected mock-pity. "I guess we'll have to put her down."

"No! I'll find her."

The new look on her face was enough to convince Juunanagou to lay off, for now.

**.x.**

B.B. ran towards to mansion with a pack on her back. She leapt over buildings which her captors had laid in ruin many years ago. A debate raged in her head. She wanted to turn and run in the opposite direction as fast as she could, but her feet took her back to the murderers. She was the only human who was privy to their lives. Perhaps being so close to them, she could find a way to defeat them. This hope alone drove her back to them when every other sense told her to flee.

Suddenly Juuhachigou landed in front of her. B.B. jumped back and put her fists up.

"So, my little Koneko flew the coup. Impressive work, by the way. You should have told me the steel wouldn't hold you."

"I didn't think I could do it," B.B. admitted flatly.

"No matter. You escaped. My brother wants to kill you and you've just given him a blank check. You must really want to die."

"I was starving, you idiot! You left me without food or water for two days!"

Juuhachigou looked shocked. "Oh, I guess I forgot about that." She pouted and stepped forward. B.B. blinked at her and realized she meant to pick her up again. She jumped back another five feet and glared at the killer.

"I can walk."

"Oh, suit yourself," she sighed and followed her back to the house.

**.x.**

A small child smiled as he was handed capsules full of food. He thanked the woman who gave them to him and ran back to his friends. The woman smiled back and straightened stiffly. She gripped her cane, said good-bye to the head of the shelter and got back in her air-car.

The landscape blurred under her. Towns and villages; shells of human habitats loomed and disappeared as she passed them by. The car slowed as it reached the outskirts of the Western Capital. It veered south and came to rest on the grass in the countryside. The woman emerged slowly, lifting her lame leg out first. She leaned on the cane and limped up a small hill. Several, flat stones were laid out in a line at the top of the hill. The cherry trees behind them were heavy with blooms. Soft, pink petals drifted down onto the short grass. She took a small bouquet of wild roses out from the folds of her jacket and placed one, red flower on each grave.

"Hey, guys. What's up?" Bulma asked. She gingerly seated herself between the two leftmost plots and picked at the grass. Her eyes glistened. She laid down and put her hands behind her head. The sky was almost completely blue. She watched the few small, puffy clouds drift by. "Today was ok," she sighed. "Could have been better. There's a lot fewer people in P-Town that the last time I checked, and they're all hungry and scared." Her lip quivered. "I'm doing the best I can without you, but..." Tears rolled out of the corners of her eyes. "I hate it. I can't stand the suffering! It never stops, no matter how much I do they come along and undo it!" Bulma pounded her fists against the ground, as if to beat against their chests. "I don't want to fight anymore. Why couldn't they have finished the job all those years ago? Why did I live?! Why did you leave me?! I want to be with you!" she sobbed heavily and curled up on her side. The tears coursed down the furrow of a deep, old scar on her cheek. She faced the last gravestone and wiped her face. "Why am I still here, Vegeta?"

_ "Because you're strong." _

She stopped crying and blinked at the stone. Bulma shook her head and made a face. Then she pursed her lips and leaned in towards her former lover's final resting place. "Vegeta?" she asked in a whisper.

_ "Yes?" _The voice echoed in her head with a slight laugh.

Bulma scrambled away from the grave with a yelp and the voice laughed heartily - a laugh she hadn't heard in fifteen years. "What the hell?!"

_ "Hell? Unfortunately, no." _

"It- it's really you! Oh, it's you, Vegeta! And you're in _heaven_?!"

_ "Don't rub it in, Woman." _

She looked to the stone and began babbling through her tears.

_ "If I told you I'm in heaven, why are you looking down?!" _

"Sorry! Oh, Vegeta, I want to be with you guys so badly!"

_ "Don't be stupid. You're alive for a reason." _

"And what is that?!" she barked at him as if no time had gone by at all. "I have _nothing_! All my friends are dead." She began to cry again. "Oh, Vegeta, I'm sorry. I lost her."

_ "Who?" _

"Our daughter! Bra is dead."

_ "No she's not. She lives." _

Bulma stopped her bawling and stared at the sky. "What?!"

_ "The girl is alive, are you dense?" _ He growled, irritated. _ "Look, I don't have much time..." _

Bulma gasped. "Vegeta, where is she?!"

_ "I can't tell you." _

"Why not?!" she demanded.

_ "Because she's unreachable. If she succeeds in her endeavor, I'll try to contact you again and tell you where to find her." _

Bulma pouted at the sky. "What do you mean, her endeavor? What is she doing?"

_ "Same thing you're doing - trying to save the world. You can't help her. It's too dangerous. Just wait."_

Bulma slumped to the ground and began to sob again.

_ "Bulma…" _She looked up, surprised to hear him call her by her name. _ "I have to go." _She tried to protest. _ "It's not my choice... Alright, alright! Get away from me!" _

"Eh?"

_ "Ugh. Kakarotto and his friends say hello. There, satisfied? Good. Now back off!" _

Bulma realized he was talking to the other Z Warriors and looked to the other graves with a smile. "Hi guys!"

_ "Good-bye, Bulma." _

She fought the desire to beg him to keep talking to her. "Good-bye, Vegeta. I..."

_ "Woman," _ he cut her off. _ "Take your time getting here." _

Bulma smiled at the sky. She still knew how to translate Vegeta-ese. "Ok." A light breeze blew strands of her aqua hair and cherry petals around her head. They brushed by her cheek. Bulma stood and stared at the blue. "Vegeta...?"

_ "I'm watching..." _

She smiled wider and waved at the clouds. "Bye!" she cried again, half in sadness, half in joy. Her daughter was alive and was fighting the Jinzouningen in her own way... out there somewhere.

**.x.**

Juunanagou threw punch after punch at the girl they called Koneko which she blocked with some difficulty. He got progressively faster. Soon, she couldn't keep up and took a hit to the midsection. She got the wind knocked out of her and landed squarely on her back.

"Oi," she moaned as her wind came back. The killer whistled his boredom for effect as she dragged herself to her feet. "Ok. Let's go."

Juuhachigou watched and made sure her brother didn't go too hard on her soft, squishable pet. After a few hours and a few near K.O.s she declared this round over. Koneko crawled up the front stairs back to her room. Her right eye was swollen shut and some of her ribs were heavily bruised. The bed her captors had given her felt heavenly as she flopped down on it. Juuhachigou had even included a down comforter and lots of pillows. She sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

"Good job, today, Koneko." Juuhachigou stood in the doorway with her arms folded.

"Thanks."

"Goodnight, rest well. We'll most likely kill you in the morning."

She had said that every night for last three weeks. Koneko closed her eyes and rolled over painfully. She saw their forms fly by outside her window. It was late, but Koneko had been paying attention to the monsters and realized that they not only didn't eat; they didn't sleep. It was getting harder for her to disregard the idea that they were somehow magical. There had to be an explanation.

**.x.**

Koneko grew bored waiting for them to return one day and wandered the house. They had told her that if she set foot outside the grounds without their permission they would know and she would die. She knew already that they could find her wherever she was. That legend was true. Now she was looking to prove another legend false.

The house was full of all kinds of electronic devices and generators. She noticed that many of them were hacked together from bits of other things. The wiring was often exposed, but well done. Many of the pieces were unfamiliar, but she recognized a few diagnostic tools. Picking a voltage meter wand up, an idea formed. Koneko wasn't just strong, she was smart, too. If she could take the things they had made apart, she could get an idea of how they thought and just how smart they were. She investigated an audio video unit and smiled. The killers knew their stuff. Disregarding the fact that her 'hosts' would most probably not be happy with her messing with their stuff, she began to take the unit apart.

In a few hours, Koneko began to put the set-up back together. She followed their design and put every circuit back exactly where they had placed it. She plugged the DC adapter back into the power source as Juunanagou entered the room.

"And just what do you think you're doing?"

"Staving off boredom," she said plainly and turned the monitor on. The test pattern displayed as if no one had ever touched it.

He approached and examined the unit with a displeased look on his usually stoic face. "You took it apart?"

"Mmhm, and put it back together. This is pretty good work." She waved a multi-purpose tool at him. Her pale, purple hair was up in a pony tail, but some of it had fallen out while she worked. She blew the stray strands away from her face and waited for his reaction.

"Hm. Are you ready for your daily beating?"

Koneko was disappointed that he avoided giving her any inside information. "Sure." She put the tool down and followed him out to the front lawn.

Koneko smashed through a marble statuary in the garden. She growled and leapt at Juunanagou. She was cut off by Juuhachigou and took up her fight with her instead. After some time had gone by, Juunanagou jumped back in. The siblings were vying for a chance to fight the teen. Koneko saw this and smiled as she took a kick to the lower back. She hit the ground hard, but arched her back and flipped out of the crater she had created.

"We're going to have to find a new sparring ground," Juunanagou declared. "This one's more hole than ground."

His sister nodded. They both looked to each other. Koneko waited for their next move.

"The ground is overrated." Juuhachigou pouted.

"Mm. I wish it could fly."

"Well, how do _you_ fly?" Koneko asked. They ignored her.

"Maybe there's a way we can get her to propel herself with her ki energy. It is fairly high and she does already use it to burst forward," Juuhachigou looked at the girl and wondered.

"I have an idea." Juunanagou stepped forward and smiled evilly. He grabbed Koneko and threw her several hundred feet into the air. She screamed and Juuhachigou smacked the side her brother's head.

"You idiot, you're going to break her!" She walked around looking up, trying to position herself under the girl. She folded her arms and waited. The scream approached again as Koneko plummeted from the sky, head first. Before Juuhachigou could open her arms to catch her, she curved and buzzed them.

"Woo hoo!!!" she cried as she controlled her ki and swooped over the killers. Juunanagou laughed as he always did at the startled look on his sister's face and followed Koneko.

**.x.**

Life with the pair homicidal maniacs was turning out to be a lot cushier than Koneko could have ever imagined. She hadn't seen anyone die for a month now. They treated her well, when they were around. Even her training was never overly rough. Juuhachigou was always there to prevent Juunanagou from going too far.

Koneko heard the microwave beep and went into the kitchen to get her cup-o-noodles. She had fixed all the appliances in the house that they hadn't made operational due to lack of interest and hooked them up to generators. Even the garbage disposal worked (although, at first, the teen who had lived hand-to-mouth her whole life had no idea what the device was for). She plopped down on a dusty couch and decided to try to find a video signal.

With the touch of a button the receiver zipped through the available frequencies. Station after station the channel displayed snow static. Finally, it stopped on channel 54. The picture was fuzzy but the audio was good. The anchor was telling the public where to find water and food. He seemed to be talking in code. Koneko watched closely, glad to see another human's face. She wished the picture was better.

"We have word that P-Town has been hit again. This seems to be the monsters' favorite location recently. We at channel 54 would warn those who live there to flee, but…" The small box above the anchor's shoulder zoomed in, showing explosions in a city. A bridge with a huge, tattered flag and cars on it crumbled and fell into a river. "Reports are saying that this is a cleansing sweep. There will most likely be no one left."

Koneko leaned closer and made out Juuhachigou's shape dart from building to building. She landed very close to the camera. The anchor gasped. The screen went blank as an energy beam shot out of Juuhachigou's hand. "I'm sorry," Koneko whispered.

"About what?" Juunanagou asked from behind her.

Koneko cried out, jumped up and turned off the set. "Why the hell can't I feel you guys coming?" she shouted. "And why aren't you out there wasting people?"

"Eh, I got bored." He ignored the personal question as usual, came up behind her, extended his index finger and stroked the back of her neck.

She tensed and gasped lightly. Her eyes stared straight ahead, unblinking. She had wondered when it would come to this.

"I thought I could have way more fun back here." The monster pressed up against her back and brought his hands up over her breasts.

Koneko growled and grabbed his hands. "No."

Juunanagou laughed lightly, erasing all hope that he would obey her wishes. If he could take her out on the battle field, he could easily force her into this. "You afraid?"

"No."

"Then why are you shaking?" He smiled sickly.

Koneko growled again. This time she tried hard to worm her way out of his grip. He spun her around to face him and laughed again. It was as if she hadn't done anything to struggle at all and she had given it all she had. She brought up her knee to meet his groin, but he caught it easily and held her still with the other hand. Juunanagou grabbed the back of her head and kissed her. She hissed and tried to fight him. "Cut it out," he said dryly and threw her to the floor. Koneko scrambled on all fours to get away, but he grabbed her hips and ripped her pants off of her with one pull.

"No!!" she cried out as defiantly as she could muster.

"Shut up! You scream again and you die." The killer sneered as he took himself out of his pants.

The heavens darkened and thunder boomed over the house as Juunanagou forced himself on the fifteen year-old.

**.x.**

When Juuhachigou returned she wondered why her pet wasn't ready to spar like she usually was. She found her brother sitting on a large window sill smoking a cigarette. She raised a suspicious eyebrow at this.

"You took off early today."

"Yeah, I had something I needed to take care of."

She squinted at her brother and walked fairly briskly to Koneko's room. "If he's killed her, I'm not going to be a happy camper." The lights were off and the curtains were drawn.

"Koneko?" she asked, knowing full well that she was under the covers. There was no response. "What did Juunanagou do to you?" She sounded annoyed.

"What does a cold-blooded killer like _you_ care?" she muttered from under the comforter.

"You are mine. I want to know if he's damaged you in any way."

A short laugh. "You could say that."

"Are you hurt?" she asked.

"It's not like that..." she trailed off. The tears were coming again.

Juuhachigou had heard crying many times. She knew the different types of human sadness through the sound of the crying. Men's, women's, pleas for mercy, shock, horror - these were all familiar. This kind she had only heard from women around her brother when he couldn't help himself. Juuhachigou boiled over and stomped out of the room. Koneko burst into tears finally and sobbed loudly.

"Juunanagou? You had sex with my Koneko?!" she yelled at him.

"Oh yeah. I'll tell you, she does it just like she fights." He noticed his sister was unhappy. "Should I have asked your permission first?"

"I wouldn't have granted it. You know that. Besides, she's only a girl."

Juunanagou jumped down off the sill and crushed the cigarette out with his sneaker. "Juuhachi, are you getting all soft on me? That sounds like something a human would say."

"No. She belongs to me and I don't approve of you doing that to something I own."

He could tell that she was really cross and decided make amends. "If it makes you _feel_ better," he emphasized the word to rub it in, "I won't do it again." Juunanagou gave her a smarmy smile and walked out the front door.

"The damage is done, Juunanagou. She's under her covers shaking like a rabbit! How do you expect her to be a decent fighter if she's psychologically scarred?"

"You're the one who wants a fighter," he whined. Juuhachigou pouted. He had her there. "Oh! Speaking of _scarred_, I think I've learned something interesting about your animal that may explain her, shall we say, _unique_ strength."

Juuhachigou continued to pout, but listened.

"She has a strange scar at the base of her spine as if something were removed there." He waited to see if she could guess where he was going.

"As if what was removed, Juunanagou? Don't play that game, just tell me."

He snorted and folded his arms. "I think she used to have a tail."

"That's ridiculous. Humans don't have tails."

"No. Humans don't." He waited again. His sister could be so dense.

"But, the only species with tails I can think of are…" She stared at her brother. The smile on his lips told her she was on the right track. "Nah..." She shook her head. "We got rid of them years ago!"

"How many years ago, Juuhachigou?"

"Well, the younger one recently. About half a year ago? And the older one..."

He got impatient and finished her thought. "About fifteen years ago."

"You don't mean...?"

"Yep."

"Oh." She raised her brows slightly. "Well, that is interesting. Thank you Juunanagou."

"Does that mean I can keep..."

"No."

"Damn."

**.x.**

"Koneko?"

Juuhachigou stood by the bed and looked down at the form under the covers. She folded her arms and waited. The shape sobbed twice and slowly emerged. Koneko sat up and looked at the floor.

"For what it's worth..." the killer said to her in a flat tone. "I'm sorry."

Koneko looked up, very surprised at her. She shrugged a little and hugged herself.

"He won't do it again." Juuhachigou turned and left as she began to feel awkward.

_To be continued…_


	2. Part 1 Chapter 2

**Fumetsu no Senshi Tachi Z**

An Alternate Mirai Dragon Ball Z Fan Fiction by Aoikami Sarah

**Part One - Chapter Two**

Juuhachigou discovered that she was wrong about her Koneko. Instead of making her introverted and timid, her brother's little indiscretion seemed to steel the girl. She fought ten times harder than she had before and she seemed to prefer to fight Juunanagou.

They blurred above the mansion on a sunny afternoon. Koneko took pleasure in the fact that she was at last able to land a punch or two. She had been working out while the killers were gone and found that she could lift the remaining statuary in the garden; some of which weighed hundreds of pounds. She could feel her ki rise as she fought. Juunanagou also felt this and, after taking another hit, stopped holding back.

Koneko crashed to the ground but burst back up faster than the twins expected. Juuhachigou smiled and took her on. The women ranged all over as they fought. Koneko kept the image of Juuhachigou leveling her hand at the camera in her mind as she tried to strike her. She wouldn't let herself get lulled into a false sense of security, even if she was protecting her from her brother. This woman could kill her as just as soon as look at her. They were killing machines. But Koneko still couldn't figure out how they had such power. And why, even though she had learned to feel out ki a long time ago, she could never read more than a flicker from them.

Juuhachigou called it a day after she had bloodied the girl's face fairly badly. Koneko wiped it with her shirt and panted. "Already?" she smiled wryly. "I was just getting warmed up!"

"That's enough for today." Juuhachigou said before her brother could make a snide remark. He snorted at her, landed and walked slowly into the house. Koneko sighed and followed him. "Koneko, wait. Come here."

The girl obeyed. She looked up to the taller woman and waited for instruction. She turned and motioned for her to follow. They walked out into the destroyed garden. A stone bench still stood intact and Juuhachigou sat on this and nodded for Koneko to do the same. "Why don't you try to escape?" she asked suddenly.

"Because you'll kill me."

"We're going to kill you eventually anyway. You know that. Why wait?"

"Because life is a gift. It would be incredibly selfish of me to waste it."

Juuhachigou seemed to pucker a bit at this. "Is it?"

"Well, yeah. So many people have lost theirs. Everyday mine goes on, I feel blessed."

"By whom?" The killed looked at a distant tree.

"No one in particular."

"You don't believe in God?"

"I think he died a long time ago," Koneko said in a hushed tone, as if really speaking of the dead. She realized what a perfect opportunity she was being given to pry and her stomach turned with anxiety. "Why do you do what you do?" she asked innocently.

"What do you mean?"

Koneko was surprised that she even answered, much less wanted clarification. "Why do you kill?"

The murderer pursed her lips and stood. Koneko prepared herself for death. She swallowed hard and closed her eyes.

"Everyone's got to do something."

Koneko tried very hard not to fall over. "You _have_ to?"

"You could say that."

Koneko went for broke.

"Who says?"

"Some one long dead," she murmured, stood up and walked back into the house without her.

**.x.**

One evening, two months into her captivity, Koneko decided to see what the merciless pair did while they were at home. If the siblings wanted to be alone, Juuhachigou would send Koneko to bed early and tell her that if she came out of her room she'd kill her. This night, she was sent to bed before the sun set, but there was no such admonition. Whether the killer forgot to warn her, or whether she didn't care, Koneko was unsure. She was willing (as she had been for the last two months) to risk her life to learn more about them, in the hopes that knowledge was in fact power.

She crept around the corner, approaching the equipment room with caution.

"Ready? Juuhachigou asked.  
"Yeah, but we have company."

"I know," she turned her head to the door. "Come on in, Koneko."

Juunanagou frowned. "Juuhachi!"

"Oh, she's bound to find out sooner or later. What's the harm?"

Koneko inched in, sweating profusely. "Sorry, I couldn't sleep." She giggled nervously as she came in. Juunanagou was lying on his back on a table. Juuhachigou flipped a switch on a piece of equipment and leaned over his mid-section. Koneko came around her right and saw what she was doing. Her hands were deep inside his chest cavity, but instead of blood and guts, the compartment was filled with wires, green circuit panels and tiny blinking lights. Juuhachigou prodded his 'guts' as she repaired her brother. Koneko's eyes refused to blink. "Oh, God," she whispered.

"I thought you said he was dead," Juuhachigou deadpanned as she worked. It didn't take her long to finish. She turned to the stunned girl and stared at her. "What?"

"You're… you're…" she stammered.

"Jinzouningen," Juunanagou finished, impatiently.

It all made sense. Artificial humans! Of course! Koneko smiled inwardly. "Wow."

**.x.**

The sun inched its way below the horizon, spreading violet across the clouds. Bulma's air car hummed along on the way back to her underground home. There was nothing left of the town she had visited - not even one survivor. Sometimes there were at least a few left who had been buried or well hidden, but not this time. She zoned out and her vision blurred.

A flock of dark birds swirled to avoid the vehicle and Bulma shrieked. The car swerved in the air momentarily until she regained control.

"Birds," she panted. "Just birds!"

Suddenly, the car rocked again. "What the…?" A face popped up in her driver's side window. Bulma screamed out loud in sheer terror as she recognized the girl. "Jinzouningen!!"

The sudden pressure decrease knocked the wind out of the middle-aged woman as Juuhachigou's hand shot through the glass. She ripped off the door and hauled Bulma out of the vehicle.

As she held her up and raised her hand to kill her, Bulma sucked in a deep breath and screamed at her. "Where the hell were you a few months ago?! I wanted this, then!"

The killer was puzzled. "What?"

"Well, you might as well get it over with!" Bulma furrowed her brows and bellowed. She waved her hands wildly. Something flashed and caught Juuhachigou's attention. A gold bracelet with the initials 'B.B.' engraved on it caught the last rays of sunlight. The Jinzouningen stared at the woman. There was no mistaking her. Her Koneko's mother's life was in her hands. Dark clouds moved in and extinguished the sunlight. Juuhachigou made a face and brought her fist down on the woman's head. Lightning cracked and thunder boomed. It began to rain.

**.x.**

Bulma woke up on the ground next to the wreck of her air car. She was soaking wet and had a pounding headache. All these things, however uncomfortable, pointed to her being alive. She moaned and got to her feet. "Why did she let me go?" she wondered out loud. The car looked pitiful. There was no way she could get it flight worthy and she was miles from the home. Bulma muttered to herself, cursed the rain and kicked the wreck. She cried out as pain shot from her toe to her headache. Cursing a blue streak, Bulma began to limp home.

**.x.**

Koneko took five or six hits to the head before she tried evasive maneuvers. Juuhachigou was unrelenting today. Although she was holding back enough to prevent herself from killing her quickly, if this kept up, Koneko knew that she may not survive.

She also knew the Jinzouningen well enough that she knew she didn't want to kill her. She wanted to hurt her badly, but why?

"All right Juuhachi! That's more like it!" Juunanagou cheered his sister on. She ignored him but kept battering the girl. Koneko summoned her inner strength and began powering up. She darted away after every hit to allow herself time to charge.

"Hold still!" Juuhachigou shouted and swooped in.

Koneko felt her ki rise and channeled it out of her hands. "Ha!!" A beam of pure energy bloomed at her palms and shot out at the android. She and her brother shared shocked gasps as the blast hit Juuhachigou. Koneko panted and waited to see the damage. Juuhachigou hung in the air, seemingly untouched. Her blank expression slowly turned to one of amusement.

"Wow, I haven't seen _that_ in a long time."

Unlike the Jinzouningen, Koneko was still in shock. She stared at the woman and blinked. "Woof!" she shouted and smiled wildly. "Where'd I learn to do that?" She charged again and shot off beams in rapid succession at Juuhachigou, which ricocheted off her palm as she blocked them. Koneko was a little miffed that although the attacks she was delivering would fry a human instantly, they were gnats to the Artificial Humans. The rain plastered her hair to her face. She pushed it out of her eyes. '_It's a good thing I have a plan B!'_ she thought, and concentrated on her training regardless of its effectiveness.

**.x.**

Juuhachigou caught her brother on top of her pet again the next day, but tore him off before he could do any more damage. Juunanagou cursed her out then jogged out of the mansion and took to the skies in search of fulfillment.

Koneko found another shirt to replace the one he tore. Juuhachigou stared at her as she dressed. The girl couldn't be more than sixteen or so but her skin bore old scars. Koneko sat down in the middle of her bed. She wrung her hands and tried hard not to cry, pouting sweetly, pretending she was strong.

"Hey," the android said angrily. "I stopped him didn't I?"

Koneko looked up. "Yes. Thank you."

Juuhachigou turned and pouted herself. She didn't understand why she was still upset if nothing really happened. She walked to the doorway, but stopped before leaving.

"Koneko. Help me with something," she demanded and beckoned the girl to follow her.

Much to her surprise, Juuhachigou led Koneko to the maintenance room. She turned on several pieces of equipment and took out a few tools. The android removed her double-R jacket, lay down on her stomach on the table and pulled her shirt up to expose her back. "Here," she took Koneko's hand and showed her where to touch. She pressed her fingers in three places on her cool skin. "It'll only open if I tell it to." A seal was broken and a seven inch square section depressed and slid under to reveal her circuitry. "Can you see the red wires?"

"Uh-huh," she managed to disguise her shock. The red wires were hair thin and multitudinous. Koneko found a magnifying glass and took a closer look. "Those are my spinal neurons. They branch off along my spine to my extremities. I believe I have a problem with my right, lower leg." Juuhachigou struggled to present her problem in layman's terms.

She walked Koneko through the diagnostic until she had located the exact problem. The girl beamed with pride and excitement as she learned the inner workings of the killing machine. Soon, the malfunction was isolated and repaired. She pressed her fingers in the right way without being told, and the epidermis glided back into place. Juuhachigou stood and stretched. She kicked at the air several times so quickly that her leg blurred.

"Come on. Let's see how you did."

**.x.**

They fought into the afternoon, breaking only so Koneko could get something to eat. She slurped her noodles loudly as she wolfed them down. When she was done, she smacked her lips and jumped up, excited for round two. Juuhachigou, who had been sitting on a stool across from her, simply stared at the girl. Koneko sat down slowly and stared back at her. "What's up?"

Juuhachigou shook her head and blinked. "Thinking."

"Ah. 'Bout what?"

She looked out a nearby window and furrowed her brows. "The meaning of life."

Koneko gripped her seat as the shock threatened to bail her out of it. "You think about stuff like that?"

"Is it that hard to believe?"

"Well. Yes! You're a machine, aren't you?"

"I was human, once." Juuhachigou continued to stare out the window.

"Oh yeah…?" Koneko's mind whirled. She reformed her plan accordingly and tired to think of what to say to keep the Artificial Human talking. "So, someone _programmed_ you to kill."

She nodded slightly. "And _love_ it…" There was hesitation in her voice.

"But?"

"But…" Juuhachigou closed her eyes. "I don't know if I do, anymore."

"You know," Koneko added as she stood. She had to cut this conversation off before the Jinzouningen realized what she was saying and got very mad. "You're lucky, in a respect."

"How's that?"

"Humans spend their whole lives searching for their creator's intentions. You know the code intimately. You know your purpose."

"Yeah, I do." She got up and walked out without her.

**.x.**

Humans in a small, isolated town had not yet know the full scale apocalypse that was a Jinzouningen attack. The din of screaming filled the air. Juunanagou's eyes were wide with glee as he chased a man through the streets. He loved it. It was like a cartoon. The man ran straight down the road, not veering off down an alleyway to hide. He laughed raucously, caught up to him, grabbed his hair and flung him through a plate-glass shop window.

Juuhachigou shot off blasts at buildings and bridges. She exploded cars and blew the tops off fire hydrants and watched the water spurt up. Without the hydrants, anyone accidentally left alive couldn't put out any fires they created. The din pounded in her head; screams, constant wails from the masses, terrified and dying. It got louder and louder till it seemed to distort in her ears. Juuhachigou struggled not to let her brother see her agony. Why was she feeling like this? If she could get nauseous, she would have thrown up. She had to get out of there as soon as possible. Juunanagou didn't notice as she flew away, holding her head in pain.

**.x.**

"Koneko!!" Juuhachigou shouted as she touched down and ran into the house. "Where are you?!" The girl ran in from the garden, very surprised to see Juuhachigou at this hour. "Come here!" She grabbed her arm and dragged her into the maintenance room.

'_Oh God, she found out I messed with her programming!' _Koneko panicked. '_I don't know how but she's figured out and she's gonna kill me. This time, she's really gonna kill me!!' _Koneko kept her mouth shut and waited for the killing blow.

"Please," the Jinzouningen whirled around and confronted her. "Make it stop!" Her eyes were strange and her brows bent forward. She was in pain and she was begging for mercy.

Koneko stuttered innocently. "M-Make what stop?"

"I don't know, the desire, the compulsion, the _need_!! I don't want it, and it's tearing me apart!"

"The need for what?"

"Destruction!!" she shouted. "Please Koneko, do something! I know you can!"

Koneko suddenly realized that her plan was at last working. Little by little, the Jinzouningen had let her repair her and she had been able to learn the inner-workings of the killing machine. She wasn't sure until this moment if she had actually been successful, but it seemed now that she had. Artificial Human Number Eighteen was refuting her programming. Now all that was left to do was to take her out.

Koneko went into action. Juuhachigou lay down on the table and opened the top of her head. The android's lip trembled a little as Koneko leaned over her with a probe. "I'll only be off-line for twenty minutes." The girl stared into her eyes for a moment before Juuhachigou shut herself down.

"You trust me?" she whispered. '_How can I destroy her? She's kept me safe and trained me to fight, she made me strong,' _she thought. '_She's not just a machine, she's a person.'_ "Damn it, what do I do now?!" Koneko gritted her teeth and began hooking a keyboard and monitor to her.

Koneko clicked at the keyboard. The encryption was thick and complicated but it unfolded and let her in just as Juuhachigou said it would. A drop of sweat poured down the side of her face. "Come on, where are you? I know you're in there…" she babbled to herself as she tried to isolate the base operating system. Suddenly, as if the celestial choir entered the room and began singing, the screen scrolled like mad. Koneko's quick eyes caught all the data. It was all there: the base, the O.S., and on top of it, the most deadly of all killer apps. "D.S.G. 1.1 and D.A.H. version 3.6." Koneko whispered as she read it. "Destroy Son Goku and Destroy All Humans. Wonder who he was, poor bastard." She typed away. "Select and... delete!" Koneko hovered her finger over the button. Two minutes remained. She bared her teeth and pressed the delete key.

_::Deletion Complete::_

"Whew." She slumped her shoulders in relief and shut down the utilities. "Reboot!" The screen flickered expectantly and prompted. It waited for the hardware to come back online. Koneko held her breath, watched and waited.

Juuhachigou's eyes snapped open. She sat up and blinked a few times.

Koneko smiled hopefully. "Feel better?"

She stared at Koneko. "You… you…?"

'_Please have worked! Please please please, sweet Lord I didn't mean to say you were dead!'_ she thought hysterically.

"You did it."

"Eh?"

"Koneko, you did it! It's gone! It's gone!!" Juuhachigou smiled uncharacteristically wide and held her pet by the arms.

Spontaneously, Koneko jumped up and down. "Alright!!"

"What's gone, Juuhachi?" Juunanagou asked, his voice dripping with evil.

Koneko jumped out of her skin. She had forgotten about him for the last half and hour or so.

"Juunanagou. It is possible!"

"What is?"

Juuhachigou leapt off the table and approached her brother. "Gero programmed us to kill. I've been deprogrammed! I don't want to kill anymore!"

"What?!" Juunanagou laughed as he barked at her. "We were created to kill! There's nothing I want to do _more_!"

"But, Juunana, there's so much more to life…"

"Life," he snorted. "I think I've have just about enough of that." He leveled his hand at his sister and fired a massive blast point blank at her chest. She crashed through the wall and was blown out of the house. Koneko shouted and charged Juunanagou blindly. He didn't seem surprised at her loyalty and blocked all of her attacks.

She built up her ki as she fought. The shocked look on Juuhachigou's face as her brother shot her was burned into her mind. She could feel her anger rising. More imprinted images that she knew she could never rid herself of waved into her consciousness. Children, bloodied and alone, screaming in the dark; heaps of corpses with no one left to bury them, waiting for decay; the Jinzouningen's leer as he tore her clothes off. This last image remained the longest as she stared into his icy, blue eyes - those eyes which had seen so much suffering and felt not one drop of remorse. Her aura glowed brightly as the energy built up. The room was almost completely totaled. They fell out into the garden through another wall. Juunanagou struck her in the face repeatedly, but she growled and took each punch. He seemed excited by this but his smile soon faded. Koneko began a low, crescendo of a scream which reached a plateau as something inside her popped. Her eyes turned green, her long, lavender hair turned gold and Koneko threw herself at Juunanagou. They bounded all over the grounds, destroying the house and garden as they did so.

Juuhachigou lifted a piece of wall off of herself and gawked at the sight. "Koneko!" She burst up to them and joined the fight. Koneko was twenty times stronger than she had even been, but the Jinzouningen were tireless. She slammed into the ground and gasped as she saw Juunanagou hurtle down toward her. Suddenly, Juuhachigou cut him off and began punching and kicking him to distract him. Koneko darted out of the crater and joined her. With Juuhachigou helping, the tide began to turn in her favor. Juunanagou shot off burst after burst at them. The girls spiraled after him, dodging the blasts and confusing him with their maneuvers. Juuhachigou grabbed his left arm and Koneko his right and they slammed their knees into his unprotected stomach then hurled him at the Earth. They charged up before he hit and chased his descent with two huge power attacks. The explosion was tremendous. The blondes' hair blew back away from their faces, but they stood their ground and watched carefully. As the dust cleared, Juunanagou was visible, at the bottom of a large crater, unmoving.

They descended slowly. "Is he dead?" Koneko asked.

"No, he's alive." Juuhachigou touched down next to him. His body was contorted awkwardly. His eyes were open and unblinking. "Juunana?" She squatted down next to him.

"Juuhachi… Don't let her…"

"What?"

"You do it, my Sister."

"No."

"Kill me, Juuhachi."

Juuhachigou looked to Koneko. The girl's strange eyes were trained on the ground.

"I'm sorry Juunanagou. Forgive me."

"Sure…" He seemed to laugh lightly, but his mouth was hardly moving anymore.

Juuhachigou fired a thin beam from her index finger. This shot through his temple, destroying his CPU. Number 17 was no more.

Juuhachigou removed her brother's orange bandanna and wrapped it around her wrist. She stood and they levitated out of the crater. Koneko lifted her index and middle fingers and caused the soil around the crater to fold in, covering Juunanagou's body. "That's more than you deserve, but rest in peace anyway."

Juuhachigou sighed and looked to her. "Well, this has been an interesting hour."

Koneko nodded in relief. "Um, Juuhachigou?"

"Actually, could you not call me that from now on."

"Ok, Cool. Um, I don't mean to be selfish or whatever, but…" She played with the dirt with her foot. "You got any idea what's happened to me?!" Koneko shouted and pointed at her hair.

"Oh," the Jinzouningen replied, as calm as ever. "You're in Super Saiyajin mode. You can drop out now, you know." Koneko looked at her funny. "Just power down." She did so and frowned at her, waiting for more of an explanation. "It's a long story." Koneko pouted more. The Jinzouningen smiled.

"Sorry." She smiled back. "So, what do you want to be called?" They walked away from the mansion.

"I don't know. I suppose _you_ should name me."

"Eh?"

"I named you. It's the least I deserve."

"Ok, I will."

The woman once called Juuhachigou stopped and waited.

Koneko noticed she was walking alone and turned. "What?"

"Well?"

"Now? It's going to take me a couple days at least to come up with something good."

She blinked at the girl. Her chest felt suddenly very strange, but good. She caught up to her and put her hands behind her head and walked beside her. "So, what do we do now?"

"Well, there's a big world out there that you and your late brother tried to destroy. I think it would be a good idea to help fix it."

The Jinzouningen pursed her lips, but nodded. "That sounds like a plan."

**.x.**

Koneko dunked her head into a large fountain in the town square. A bronze general on his horse, toppled years ago, lay half in the water. She swished her long hair around, trying to cleanse dust and grime from the lavender strands. Flipping her head back, she shook the water out. The Jinzouningen sat on the lip of the fountain and watched people with interest. She had never laid eyes on them like this before; as an observer, as one of them, as a survivor.

A man walked up to the water and removed the glove from his right and only hand with his teeth. She watched him closely, not realizing that her unblinking stare was deeply unsettling. He stared back at her and backed away, pointing at her. "Ji- jin-" he stuttered, "Jinzouningen!!"

Everyone in earshot turned and stared at the fountain. Koneko flipped her hair out of her face and jumped to her feet. "No! It's alright! Please, don't panic!"

The one-armed man looked at her as if she were crazy. Koneko stood next to her and held up her hands. "She's not what you think she is."

"Yes, I am," she insisted as she pushed in front of her.

"Juu..." Koneko hissed at her, "No, not anymore. I know your name now." She tried to calm the angry mob that had gathered. "I've known her for a long time."

"Lying? Really, Koneko," the Jinzouningen whispered to her.

"Hey, five months is the longest amount of time I've ever known _anyone_." Turning to the crowd once more she spoke loud enough for everyone to hear her. "This is my friend, Zen'i."

The word 'goodwill' struck a chord with the mob (that and the look on Koneko's face that said 'you want her, you go through me'). The crowd slowly dispersed.

"Zen'i," the Jinzouningen repeated.

"You like it?"

"Yeah. I was expecting Hebi or Inu or Onezumi."

Koneko laughed.

"You also called me 'friend'. I like that, too."

They made their way out of the square.

**.x.**

Bulma heard the rumor and made her way to the fountain but by the time she got there, the converted Jinzouningen was gone. People were crazy these days. They'd believe anything if only to have some kind of hope. She sat down slowly on the lip of the fountain and sighed. It was such a nice day, and there hadn't been an attack for more than a week the world over. Stories like this latest one popped up at times like these.

"Ok, Zen'i, where to now?"

"North? We hit a couple of cities up there fairly badly."

"Sure, then…" Koneko stopped at the outskirts of the city. "Did you hear that?"

"What?"

She looked around and turned in place a few times. "There's someone, a man calling me."

Zen'i raised her brows slightly.

_ "Girl, go back." _

"Why?"

"Are you all right, Koneko?"

_ "Go back to the fountain, Girl." _

"The fountain..." She paused for a moment then ran back into the square. Zen'i called out to her but when she didn't stop the android ran after her.

**.x.**

Bulma sighed and picked up her cane. She leaned heavily on it and stood up. As she looked up she saw a teenage girl jog into the square and look around as if she was missing something. Bulma stood where she was and stared at her light, purple hair.

"Are- are you lost?" Bulma asked with quaking voice.

"I know this sounds totally crazy," Koneko said with a sheepish smile. "But a voice in my head told me to come back to the fountain and you're the only person here."

"It's not crazy." Tears came to Bulma's eyes. "It's _you_." She put her hands up to her mouth as she began to cry with joy. Her bracelet twinkled in the sunlight.

Koneko gaped at her and pushed her sleeve back to reveal her own bracelet. She stepped forward and touched the double-B engraving. "You're my daughter, Bra Briefs!"

"Mother?!" Koneko couldn't believe this was happening. The two women stared at each other for a beat before hugging and crying out loud.

_To be continued…_


	3. Part 1 Chapter 3

**Fumetsu no Senshi Tachi Z**

An Alternate Mirai Dragon Ball Z Fan Fiction by Aoikami Sarah

**Part One - Chapter Three**

"You did it, didn't you?! You beat them! He said you would!" Bulma babbled into her daughter's shoulder as she hugged her and cried.

Koneko didn't let go, but made a face. "What do you mean, he said I would?"

Bulma backed away so she could look her in the eyes. "The Jinzouningen! You defeated them, didn't you?"

"Yes, but how did you know? Who told you?"

"Your father." Bulma sniffed and sat down at the fountain. "Don't get your hopes up." She noticed the toppled statue. "He's dead."

"I know. Zen'i told me."

"Zen'i?" Bulma looked up and shaded her eyes against the setting sun. Koneko motioned for her friend to come closer.

Bulma gaped at the Jinzouningen. "You…"

Realizing that her mother recognized her Koneko began to try to explain, but Bulma furrowed her brows and cut her off. "You spared me," she said to the blond. "Was she the reason why?"

Zen'i nodded. "Koneko, before you changed me, I almost killed this woman but I saw that she had the same bracelet you hand and I couldn't bring myself to. I spared you to play with you, but when I saved her, it was the first time I had ever spared someone for no good reason. I knew from that point that there was something to be done - that I could change."

The older woman looked back and forth from the android to the girl. "How? Did you reprogram her?" Koneko nodded and her mother burst out into tears again. "Oh, I knew it! When Vegeta said you were doing something I was so afraid that you were fighting but you're smart, just like me! I knew it!!"

"Well…" Koneko scratched her head and laughed a little. "That, too."

"Smart _and_ tough," Zen'i added. "I don't think I could have defeated Juunanagou without her."

Bulma winced. "Is he dead or offline or something?"

Zen'i nodded.

"So…" The older woman began to smile from ear to ear. "It's over?" The girls nodded. "It's over!!" Bulma stood and motioned for her daughter to help her up. She stood on the lip of the fountain. "Everyone! Listen to me! It's over!! The Jinzouningen are no more! I swear to you! For a week now, there have been no attacks! It's because for a week now, they have been dead!!"

"Mother, that's not entirely true!" Koneko hissed at her and pointed to Zen'i.

"Oh, what they don't know can't hurt 'em!" A large crowd began to gather and murmur their dubiousness. "A brave warrior has at last arisen and rid our world of the Artificial Humans forever!"

"How do you know?!" shouted one man.

"Yeah, where's the proof? I'm not getting my hopes up again!"

Zen'i pushed past Koneko and stepped up next to Bulma "Because I destroyed one of them myself." She held up her brother's orange neckerchief for everyone to see. Some of them who recognized her cried out. She grasped Bulma by the waist and set her down next to Koneko. "Take your mother to safety."

"What are you going to do?"

Zen'i stepped down from the fountain and let her arms rest at her sides. "Nothing."

The crowd began to press in. Bulma looked confused as her daughter picked her up and ran away form the square. People shouted obscenities and threats until that the Jinzouningen wasn't going to fight back. Then they fell on her.

Bulma craned her neck to see. "What's going on? What is she doing?"

Koneko frowned and watched the violence she knew she couldn't stop. "For the last week, I've seen the way she stares at people. I've seen the guilt in her eyes and I know how heavy her heart is. She wants to be punished."

Bulma gawked at the mob as fists and feet collided. "Her heart," she whispered.

"Mother?"

"Yes?"

"If father is dead, how did he tell you I was alive?"

**.x.**

As the sun set, Koneko could take it no more. She pulled the last five men and women off the Jinzouningen. "That's enough. No matter how much you hit her, it won't change what's happened."

Zen'i lay in the fetal position on the ground. Her clothes were tattered and filthy. Koneko sat down beside her as she uncurled. "And it certainly won't make _you_ feel better," she scowled.

"A little better," she replied, righted herself and hugged her knees. Her artificial body was unharmed.

Bulma leaned on her cane and frowned at them. "It'll take a long time for them to forgive."

"But they'll _never_ forget," Zen'i added and stood.

Bulma limped towards them.

"Do you need help, Mother?"

"Nah." She waved with her right hand. "It's been like this since…" She bit her lip. "That's a story for another time, huh?" she muttered to herself. "Well, it's getting dark." Koneko nodded and stood. She gave her friend a hand up. "Let's go home, guys."

**.x.**

The underground lab was surprisingly cheery for being artificially lit and utilitarian. The girls marveled at the multitude of equipment. "This is the lab," Bulma explained. "The living quarters are down this hall and the kitchen is that way." She showed them around. "Come here!" She took her daughter's hand. "I want to show you something I've been working on."

When Bulma turned on the lights one of the chambers was revealed to be an enormous hangar. In the middle of this was a tall, ergonomic looking contraption. It was grey and unpainted except for the word 'hope' slathered in black by hand on its side. The girls were obviously impressed. Bulma beamed and waited for a response.

"It's huge!" Koneko stammered.

"It's grey," Zen'i monotoned.

"What is it, Mother?"

Bulma steadied herself with her cane. "It's a spaceship of course!"

"Ah! Yeah, I knew that!" Koneko laughed nervously.

"I've been waiting for five years to launch this baby."

"Why?"

"We destroyed any ships trying to leave Earth," Zen'i admitted.

"But, Mother, where do you need to go that you need such a huge ship?"

"Well, the size unfortunately coincides with how fast I need this thing to go. I found that the propulsion units took so much fuel, the body had to be quite large."

"She meant _where_ not _why_," Zen'i helped.

"Oh, here, let me show you!" Bulma blushed. It had been so long since she had talked shop with anyone who could talk back. She rummaged through a cluttered desk and found a notebook-sized digital star map. "Well, as you can see, Old Namek-Sei used to be where this nebula is now, and that's over 4,000 light-years from Earth, but _New_ Namek-Sei is over 11,000 light-years away, so you can see why I had to make this sucker crank!"

Koneko raised an eyebrow. Zen'i's expression remained unchanged. "Nam-ek?"

Bulma's eyes bugged slightly. "Oh, wow. Are you guys in for a surprise!"

**.x.**

The three women buckled themselves in to the three seats on the bridge. They wore blue and white space-suits and serious looks. Bulma took the controls and the ship prepared for liftoff. As lights came on and the sound of the propulsion system became louder, she pressed a series of buttons and the ceiling divided into two parts and slid back. The ship lifted slowly off the ground and pointed at the sky. "Hold on," she gritted her teeth and smiled wide.

All three held their right fists to their chests and then threw them out at the sky. "To Namek!!"

**.x.**

The Jinzouningen sat on her bed in the sleeping quarters on the ship, hugging one knee. "So these Dragon Balls are on Namek?"

Bulma nodded.

"Wow." Koneko stared at her mother as she unfolded her reason for going to this far away planet. "Your life has been so amazing!"

She made a pitiful face. "That's not the word I use to describe it."

Zen'i saw the way the woman stared at Koneko and got up. "I'm going to watch the stars fly by." She left them to catch up.

Koneko held her mother's hand. "Mother? What was Father like?"

She laughed at little and bowed her head. "Strong, proud," she listed. "Alone." Her eyes glistened as she looked up. "Evil!" She laughed again. She had already told Koneko the story of his arrival and fight with Goku.

The girl shook her head. "How weird. I'm still getting used to the fact that my father was from another planet."

"Well," Bulma mused. "He can't be evil anymore, since he's in heaven."

"So, it was him who told me to find you?"

"It had to be. Did he call you by your name?"

"He called me 'Girl'."

"That would be him."

"Did you love him?" Koneko whispered.

Bulma closed her eyes. "I didn't get a chance to find out if I did."

**.x.**

A month later, the women looked out of the huge window as Bulma slowed the craft. The stars stopped whizzing by and before their eyes appeared a yellow-green orb.

"Is that it?" Zen'i asked.

"I guess so. I've never actually seen it but it's in the same orbit where I mapped it eighteen years ago." Bulma brought the ship in for a landing. It sank gently into the atmosphere and landed gracefully. "Woof, am I good!" she exclaimed. Zen'i raised an eyebrow at Koneko, knowingly. The girl shrugged.

A circular panel depressed and the three women descended to the ground. There was a small grouping of white, rounded and pointed buildings in front of them. "Looks like Namek," Bulma reassured them and herself. Wind blew through the strange, bluish trees. Not a single living being was in sight. "Hello?" She hobbled toward one of the houses. "Anyone home?" Her heart started to palpitate. What if something had happened to her friends? It wouldn't be too hard to believe, seeing what had happened to her own planet, but the buildings were intact. "Guys? It's me, Bulma!"

Zen'i and Koneko were on guard. They could feel eyes watching them. At last a green head poked out from around a corner. Bulma wasn't sure if she was relieved or startled as the sound of murmuring reached their ears.

"It is!" called one of the elders as he emerged. "It's alright! It's Bulma-san!" A few dozen green-skinned individuals emerged from their hiding places and smiled at the women. Bulma turned to her comrades and nodded. "These are Namekjin!" she smiled.

Koneko blinked rapidly. "My life just keeps getting weirder and weirder."

The men of various ages all took turns clasping the older woman's hand. Finally, the elder of the village inquired for his people, "What brings you at long last to New Namek-sei?"

Her smile faded. "My friends, I have some bad news…"

**.x.**

More Namekjin had gathered in the hour that it took Bulma to explain the Earth's troubles. They all listened patiently. Most of them were old enough to have known the blue-green planet they had called home for a year. A younger Namek came forward when she had finished.

"They're all gone? All the Z warriors?" He was much more upset than his fellows.

The phrase caught Bulma's attention. "Dende?"

"Yes, Bulma-san." The healer bowed to her. "Even Son Gohan is no more?"

She nodded solemnly.

The elder came forward. "So you have come for the Dragon Balls."

"Yes, if it's at all possible, we would like to ask…"

"We've already assembled them as your were speaking." He stood aside and seven other older Namekjin approached and placed the balls at their feet.

"Well, what are we waiting for?!" Koneko grinned and broke the seriousness.

**.x.**

Dende spread his arms and summoned the Namek dragon. Even Zen'i looked impressed at how enormous and spectacular it was. The sky darkened and his voice boomed across the land in the sing-songy Namek language. Dende nodded to Bulma to tell him the wish.

"We wish that the dragon restore to life everyone who was killed by a Jinzouningen!"

The healer repeated the wish in his tongue. "Polunga says he can only restore the lives of those killed in the last Earth year."

She nodded "I know."

Polunga uttered a phrase Bulma remembered and knew to be 'your wish is granted.' She sighed deeply.

"What's your next wish, Bulma-san?"

"Next wish?" Zen'i and Koneko's eyes bulged.

"Oh, how could I forget something like that? We have two more wishes!"

Koneko beamed and jumped forward. "I have one! Make my mother as old as she was the day before she lost me!"

Bulma stared at her daughter gratefully and touched the deep scar on her cheek. Dende nodded and raised his arms. "Wait wait wait! Can we make it an even twenty-five?" Koneko blinked at her. "I was thirty-nine when I had you!"

"Alright." Dende blushed a little and made the wish.

Bulma's eyes went wide as she levitated off the ground. Her cane dropped out of her hand. Light swirled from her head to her feet and she slowly sank back down. Koneko stared at her. Bulma opened her eyes and reached up to touch her face. She shouted with joy as she felt where the scar used to be. She hugged her daughter and cried.

The dragon grumbled. "What is your third wish?" Dende translated.

All three women looked at each other. They shrugged.

"Well, I can think of a couple silly things, but nothing I should waste a wish on." Bulma admitted.

"You got anything?" Koneko asked Zen'i. The android shrugged.

Dende looked nervous. The dragon spoke to him again. He seemed shocked by what he said. "Th-thank you! I will do as you ask." A swirl of light spiraled down from the dragon and entered the young Namek. The Dragon Balls rose into the air and Polunga retracted inside them. They scattered across Namek once more.

Zen'i followed the traces of the orbs longer than anyone else could. "Did the wish go wasted?"

"No," Dende blushed again. "He gave it to me to use later on one condition." The other Namekjin listened carefully. "Since Earth hosted our nation we owe it and you, Bulma-san, a deep debt of gratitude. And, since Earth has lost its guardian, it would be my honor to fill that position."

Bulma's eyes brimmed over with tears. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Another young Namek pushed his way to the front of the crowd. "You're not going anywhere." He stood with his arms crossed. He was obviously the other type of Namekjin - a warrior. Dende turned to him, shocked. The Namek Nation murmured. One of the warrior's fangs protruded over his lower lip, and he smirked. "Not without me, anyway." All of Namek sighed.

"If you really want to…" Dende tried to hide his glee. "Bulma-san, is it alright if my friend comes along?"

"Sure! We could use more warriors! What's your name?"

The taller, strong-looking Namekjin grinned. "I'm called Polian."

**.x.**

Zen'i stared out at the blackness and watched the stars and planets whiz by. She knew exactly how fast they were traveling and was impressed by Bulma's ingenuity. She narrowed her eyes and calculated the distance to Earth and the ETA from that figure. Only three more days left. She tried to think about how many lives her brother and she had taken in the last year. She couldn't come up with an exact number. It was marginal compared to the volume of kills they had made in the last 15 years. This thought made something uncomfortable stir in her. Perhaps this genius woman could help her with such an anomaly.

**.x.**

At last the crew of spaceship Hope assembled on the bridge. They strapped themselves in to their seats and made the final preparations. The ship slowed and Earth was at last visible, huge and blue-green before them. Everyone was amazed by its beauty.

"That is Earth?" Polian asked.

"Yup," Bulma sighed. "Doesn't look like anything's wrong from up here, does it?"

The descent to Earth was as smooth as glass just like the descent to Namek. The ship set down in the open bay from which it had departed. The doors closed over it and the engines whispered off.

"Welcome to Earth!" Koneko jumped out and helped Dende down the rather sizable gap between the door and the hangar floor. Bulma was the last one out and she hesitated before remembering her physical condition. She giggled and hopped down. Koneko beamed at her and she beamed back.

"Ok, I'm gonna go out and see what's up. Or rather, _who's_ up!" Bulma announced. "Wanna come with?"

Zen'i, Polian and Koneko looked to each other. Dende spoke up for all of them. "I would like to come with you, Bulma-san. I believe these three warriors have been locked up in a spaceship for a month with little to no exercise…"

"Two months!" Koneko and Zen'i added.

"…And would like to expend some energy."

Bulma made a face as if to say, 'you guys are gonna get into trouble, aren't you?' but shrugged her shoulders and showed Dende the way to her air-car.

The three Senshi bolted out of the building and headed for a good place to spar.

**.x.**

Men and women toiled side by side, repairing buildings, planting crops; rebuilding their world. An older man struggled up hill with a wheelbarrow full of bricks. He was about to lose the load when a young, black haired man grabbed a handle and lifted the whole thing off the ground.

"I got it!" he chimed and smiled at the grateful man.

"Why, thank you, young man!"

"No problem!" he retorted, and took the barrow in one arm and three bags of cement under the other to the top of the hill. He set these down and looked out at his surroundings. A lot of the people who worked in the city today were survivors. There were few of the resurrected like himself. It had taken a while for them to come out of the woodworks. Many people still were confused and frightened, fearing they were in hell. He alone knew that it was over. He could only guess who had finally destroyed the Jinzouningen or how exactly he had come back to life. He searched every day for a sign.

Suddenly, his senses picked up the flicker of one high level ki then another. Two people, fighting each other. He concentrated. "To the west!" he cried out and blasted off after the sign.

**.x.**

Polian cracked his knuckles. "Alright, Zen'i. Let's see what you're made of."

Koneko smirked awkwardly and tried not to laugh. Her friend bowed to the Namek and struck a pose. "I'm ready."

Polian found out quickly just what she was made of as his fist landed on something a lot harder than flesh. He cursed under his breath and buffeted her with punches and kicks, all of which she blocked. Just as he was getting annoyed that she wasn't fighting back, she attacked. One punch to his exposed, pink abdomen sent him flying.

"Zen'i!" Koneko shouted angrily as Polian slammed into a rock wall. The dust cleared and he flew back to the girls.

Zen'i pushed her hair back in place. "Oh, ye of little faith. I didn't use full force."

Polian rubbed his stomach. "That's quite a punch."

"Thanks," she replied.

"I had no idea humans were so strong."

Koneko bit her lip and tried not to laugh. Zen'i simply raised an eyebrow. "That's because I'm a Jinzouningen."

"What?" Polian had been told the Artificial Humans were to blame for the suffering on Earth.

Koneko jumped up and explained the situation to him. In all that time on the spaceship she didn't think that the Namekjin wasn't aware of her friend's physiognomy.

"Alright, that's different." Polian folded his arms and scrutinized the young woman. "How about you?" he asked Koneko and took a stance.

"I'm not _entirely_ human…"

Polian sighed. "Oh, whatever. Let's dance!"

**.x.**

As they fought, Zen'i looked on. She was a little miffed that the Namekjin wasn't fast enough to hit her. She'd have to train him herself. She mused on this, shrugged and rejoined the fight. She tapped Koneko on the shoulder as if to interrupt the dance and began to show Polian some new steps for a moment before something caught her attention.

"Don't all look at once," she said loud enough for the both of them to hear. "But we have company."

Indeed, someone was flying straight towards them. Polian made sure this wasn't a trick to distract him before turning to look. "Friend of yours?"

"I doubt it." Zen'i gave him a chance to defend himself before she swatted the Namekjin into the ground.

Koneko shuddered and swung around to face Zen'i. "You don't suppose it's…?"

She narrowed her eyes. "My brother? Impossible. Besides, the being approaching us is human."

Koneko fretted. "Well, not if the wish said…"

Polian cracked his knuckles. "He's almost here. Whoever he is, he's in for a hell of a fight!"

Koneko grimaced and clenched her fists.

**.x.**

Bulma and Dende arrived in the heart of the city. She jumped out of the car and they walked through the streets. Many people were out on this sunny day, repairing and gathering supplies. There was an air of relief, but many hushed whispers as the young woman and the green-skinned man with the antenna passed by.

"Is that you, Briefs-san?" an older woman asked as she came forward.

She nodded and blushed. Bulma hadn't thought about how people would react to her condition. The woman stared at Dende.

"Oh, this is my friend Dende. He's going to be our new God!"

The woman continued to stare, dumbfounded, long after they had walked away.

Dende noticed that not a single building had escaped destruction. There were a few still standing, but all were in bad enough shape to have to be demolished. "Bulma-san? Is it all like this?"

Bulma seemed to be looking for something. Dende had to clear his throat and ask twice before she remembered he was there. "Yes, I'm afraid so. I wouldn't have asked you to take this job myself, Dende. Our world is in serious pain."

"And I am a healer, Bulma-san," the young Namek added.

She looked to him and smiled. "You're going to make a great God."

**.x.**

The young man glared at the three Senshi and tried to make sense of what he saw. "I thought you were no more, Jinzouningen!" he shouted.

"Look, whoever you are, I'm getting tired of telling people this but she's alright," Koneko barked.

Polian emerged from the hole he had been slammed into moments before the man arrived and flew back to them. "Well, well. What have we here? A human at last?" he asked in his rough, deep voice.

The black haired man's eyes bulged out of his head. "Wh-Who the hell are you?!"

"Who are you?" Koneko demanded angrily.

"I asked first!"

"My name is Polian and if you're the Earthling welcome wagon, then come on and welcome me!" he growled and smirked, inviting him to fight.

"I don't want to fight you, I want her!" he yelled back and pointed to Zen'i. She frowned, but neither said nor did anything.

"You'll have to go through me, pal."

"Are you nuts?!" He couldn't believe what was going on. Maybe everyone was right and he was in hell "Enough of this, you're mine, Juuhachigou!"

Koneko was startled that he knew her designation. She was even more startled when the man began powering up. His eyes turned green, his hair turned gold and he charged at the android. Koneko shook off her shock as they began to fight. Zen'i was blocking, but took a few hits. She tried to avoid him. As she took a kick to the stomach and a punch to the jaw she was sent flying into a near by rock outcropping.

The teenage girl had seen enough. She charged up and turned on the Super Saiyajin. "That's enough! Leave her alone!!" Koneko shouted as she barreled at him. He turned, gasped at the sight and took a head-butt to the chest.

"Wh-who…? How…?" he choked as he caught his breath.

"No! Who the hell are _you_?!"

Polian flew closer as he saw that the fight was over.

"My name is Son Gohan."

Zen'i emerged from the rock. She came up from behind him. "I killed him," she admitted. "I guess it was less than a year ago." As always, she sounded completely unfazed.

"Son Gohan?" The name sounded familiar to Koneko.

"He fought alongside your father and the other Z-Senshi." Zen'i informed her.

Gohan stared at the girl and powered down. "Your father? Not…" He realized who she was.

She did the same, reluctantly. Koneko finally placed the name. "Oh, you're Son Goku's son! Mother told me about you."

"You're Bra?"

"Well, that's what Mother named me, but I'm called Koneko."

Polian folded his arms and cocked his head to the side. "I guess being dead for a year throws you out of the loop."

Gohan shook his head and laughed in disbelief. "This is so messed up. I feel like I'm dreaming. Vegeta's kid is alive, there's a Namekjin on Earth…" He looked to Zen'i and frowned. "Or maybe I'm having a nightmare."

She was unmoved.

"Come on, I'm sure Mother wants to see you!"

"Are you kidding?! I've been looking for Bulma for a month now!"

"We've been _away_," Koneko pointed her thumb at Polian and smiled wide. "Let's go!" She led them home. Polian followed her. Gohan waited till Zen'i followed them so that he could keep his eye on her and they headed back to Capsule.

**.x.**

Bulma and Dende returned from their trip into the urban center as dinner time was rolling around. As they approached the underground headquarters, Bulma noticed Dende looked worried. She asked him what the matter was.

"When do I, er, _become_ God?"

"Good question, kiddo. I dunno. I guess we'll have to figure it out on our own. Too bad there's no one left who knows where Kami's look-out is."

The Namekjin cried out as the car suddenly dipped down toward the earth. Just after it looked like they should have crashed into the ground, he opened his eyes and saw that they were in a garage.

"Sorry," Bulma apologized. "It's a hologram so the bad guys can't find where the entrance is. I guess I can turn in off now!" She jumped out of the car. "You want some water, Dende?"

"Yes, please, Bulma-san," Dende said, as polite as ever, still clutching his chest. They heard voices coming from kitchen. "I guess the fighters are back."

The voices hushed as they came around the corner. Koneko, Zen'i and Polian sat at the island countertop. Koneko munched on some crackers, Polian sipped some water and Zen'i filed her nails. "Hi Mom," she half choked as she swallowed the crackers and smiled.

"Ok, what did you do?" Bulma asked and folded her arms.

"Do? Nothing!" Koneko replied, unable to keep her smile down.

Bulma shifted her weight. "Ok, so it's not bad. What is it? You guys are hiding something and I'm gonna find out what it is." She frowned and examined each of their faces. She got nothing from the Namekjin or the Jinzouningen, but her daughter's face got progressively sillier as she tried not to give away the surprise. Her eyes locked on her mothers and her cheeks puffed out. She let out a muffled 'eep'. Polian got out of his seat and silenced his healer friend as he saw the surprise sneak out of his hiding place. "What is it, Koneko?" Bulma grew impatient. Koneko thought she was going to burst.

Finally, Gohan inched up behind Bulma and quickly put his hands over her eyes. She shrieked and Koneko let out her breath in a huge, long sigh. "Guess who?!" he asked.

The voice was unmistakable, but she lifted her hands and touched his arms to be sure before guessing. "G-G-Gohan?!" she stammered.

He let her go and she spun and stared at him. His silly grin melted into one of pleasant surprise. "Bulma, what happened?" He gently touched her face where the scar had been then noticed that the entire package was different.

The woman's tears glistened in her eyes. "I'm twenty five," she whispered. "And you're alive!"

Zen'i raised an eyebrow at them. Dende blinked rapidly and vocalized his glee. "Son Gohan!"

Gohan turned and looked at the Namekjin. "Dende?!"

"Yes, my friend!"

"Wow! What are you doing here?"

"He's going to be our God! Isn't that great!" Koneko cheered.

"So great!"

Bulma clapped her hands together. "Excellent! Gohan, you can take him to Mr. Popo, right?"

"Sure. Right now?"

The healer shrugged. "I might as well get started right away. This world needs so much help."

"It sure does." Gohan beamed at him. It had been so long since last they had seen each other. Gohan was a man, now, and although Dende appeared to be one, too, he knew that Namekjin life spans were even longer than Saiyajin. He was still a boy according to Namek standards. "You ready to go?"

"Yes!"

"Can we come, too?" Koneko asked for her friends.

Zen'i spoke up for herself before Gohan could disapprove. "I'll stay behind with Bulma-san."

Gohan obviously didn't like the idea, but would rather her not come with them. He could not tolerate the idea of a murderer in the house of God. He looked to Bulma. She smiled, so glad that someone was looking out for _her_ for a change. She nodded her approval and he led the others out of the complex. "Hurry back!" she called out after them.

**.x.**

They chased the setting sun and ascended into the clouds. Soon, the spindle-like tower was visible. Gohan smiled at Dende as they came in for a landing. Mr. Popo, clutching his hands together tightly and smiling from ear to pitch-black ear, was waiting for them.

Somewhere far from the tower, far from the underground Capsule Corporation headquarters someone worked diligently at a huge console. Sparks flew this way and that as the man made final repairs and adjustments. Eerie, green and blue LEDs flickered in the dim light. A large, glass container stood in the middle of the room holding a milky substance. The man tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ear and looked up at this. An evil smile spread across his lips and he began a laugh which started as a quiet, sardonic chuckle, but built its way up into a full, raucous, mad-scientist cackle. "See, Father!" he bellowed to the air. "I'll do it! I'll finish it! I'll finish them all!"

**END Part One**

_To be continued…_


	4. Part 2 Chapter 1

**Fumetsu no Senshi Tachi Z**

An Alternate Mirai Dragon Ball Z Fan Fiction by Aoikami Sarah

_Written May 1st – September 15th 2000_

**Part Two - Chapter One**

Popo, Gohan, Koneko and Polian looked on as the young Namekjin raised his hands, closed his eyes and chanted in his native tongue. The round stones at his feet began to hover off the ground. He called off their numbers. Soon, the grey orbs were orange and translucent. As he incanted the magic words, imbuing them with life once again, the balls pulsed with light. Small, red stars appeared in each one, and they began to spin around the new God. Dende opened his eyes at last and shouted the end of the spell. The restored Dragon Balls shot off in seven different directions and disappeared over the edge of the lookout.

Gohan shook his friend's hand. Dende and Mr. Popo waved good-bye as the new Z Warriors headed home.

**.x.**

Koneko beamed. "This is awesome! I can't believe everything's working out so well!"

"Knock on wood, kid," Polian muttered. "From what I hear, this planet is a bad luck magnet."

She looked dejected. Gohan made a face. "He's right. We never quite seem to be rid of evil. There's always a new threat waiting out there somewhere. That's why my friends and I used to train constantly. I was slacking a little when the Jinzouningen showed up, but I was just a kid."

Gohan's brows came together and formed a deep crevasse Koneko knew was built up from years of living under the Androids' oppression. She wanted to hear about his struggle, and his death, but she dared not push him yet.

**.x.**

It was evening by the time they got home. Bulma had dinner ready for them. Five places were set along a lab table with an old table cloth thrown over it. One of the places had only a tall glass of ice water at it. Koneko bounded in and was shocked by the domestic scene. Zen'i strained noodles over the sink and Bulma zipped from place to place as she prepared the meal.

"Mom?!" she cried. "What are you doing?"

Gohan came into the room behind her and made a similar exclamation. Bulma frowned and shook a spoon at them.

"Is it so hard to believe that I can cook?"

"Frankly, Bulma, yes it is!" Gohan grinned and dodged the spoon as she let it fly at his head. He laughed at this and she turned crimson with anger. "More unbelievably it smells good!" She couldn't help but smile and blush.

"Is this the way, Bulma-san?" Zen'i washed cold water over the noodles and put them in a serving dish.

"Yup. Just put that on the table."

Gohan grimaced at the thought of having an android touch his food, but an icy look from Bulma made him hold his tongue.

"This is so cool! Everyone together like this. Mom, is this what it's like to have a family?"

Bulma paused for a second and took in how strange this all was. They were like a family, sort of. There was the quiet one, the alpha-male, the daughter, the outsider, and the mother. "Yeah, I guess so, Koneko-chan."

**.x.**

Polian gritted his teeth. His protruding fang bit deeper into his lip as he concentrated. He hovered just above the surface of a lake, far off in the wilderness. The water began to depress in a spherical shape where his energy forced it down. Soundlessly, he pushed himself to the extreme and finally his aura popped white. He opened his eyes and grinned.

Zen'i cocked her head to the side. "Come on, Green-Bean. What's the hold up?"

"Just you wait. It's a little something Gohan told me his friend Piccolo used to do." Polian began to grunt with exertion as he flexed all of his muscles. Another set of arms sprung from his chest, then another, followed by two more sets of legs. Two more heads appeared and Polian split into three, full scale models of himself.

Zen'i raised an eyebrow. "Wow, Polian." She laced her fingers together and made cute eyes at him sarcastically. "You're three times the Bean!"

Two of the tri-form technique clones charged at her while the third one faded. Each took a side and rained blows down on the Jinzouningen which she blocked. Her eyes darted around, looking for the third one. When a good twenty seconds had gone by, and it had still not appeared, she became annoyed. Zen'i went on the offensive. This was just what Polian was looking for. The third clone swept in and kicked her in the lower back. Zen'i went flying forward. The other two didn't let up. She took several hits before recovering, but not quick enough to block the third's power attack.

Polian gathered his duplicates and became one again. The dust cleared and Zen'i hung in the air with her arms crossed.

"How'dja like that?" He smirked.

She didn't look pleased. "It was all right." She squeezed her arms tighter together.

"All right? That's the first time I've ever been able to hit you full on and you all you got to say is 'all right'?"

"That's what I said!" she barked defensively. "Let's go home."

Polian was shocked. Something was wrong. He scrutinized her and saw that she wasn't just sulking, she was hiding something. He floated in for a closer look and Zen'i turned her back on him. "Zen'i, I… Is it something I said?"

She turned blue between the eyes and her lips wriggled. "No!" She spun around. "You ruined my shirt!"

He noticed now the fringes hanging down from the white-and-black-stripped shirt she always wore. Her hands were cupping her bare breasts. Polian rolled his eyes. "I can't believe you're embarrassed that your flesh is exposed." He puffed out his own pink and green chest slightly.

She blinked at him. "Oh… There are no female Namekjin, are there?"

He shook his head and pointed at her. "So I take it _those_ are female?"

Zen'i blushed furiously as he stared at her. "Yes. Well, there's more to it than that." She turned away from him and took off her jacket. She used this to cover herself in front and pushed her hair back behind her ear. "It's late. We'd better get back."

**.x.**

"Wow! This feels great!" Koneko twisted and stretched, feeling the alien fabric against her skin. The armor was so light she could hardly tell that she was wearing it. "I'm glad one size fits all!"

"More like it fits because you're built like a twelve-year-old boy." Zen'i smirked and avoided the boot which Koneko threw at her head. It whizzed through the closet door past Bulma as she turned the corner.

"What is going on in here, girls?" She picked up the boot and stared at it. "Wh-where did you find…" Bulma stuttered. She looked to her daughter and gaped.

"Like it?" Koneko posed, grinning, but her joy ebbed as she saw how upset her mother was. "Mom?"

"Oh…" Zen'i leaned over and whispered to her. "That was Vegeta's armor."

"No. That one wasn't his," Bulma explained calmly, regaining her composure. "There's a whole bunch of them in different sizes. I made them because the material was so unique. They were for the Z Warriors. I think that one was a dud because it didn't fit anyone."

"Is it ok if I have it?"

Bulma bit her lip. "I suppose. It's just weird." She grabbed a basket of laundry and awkwardly left the room.

Koneko looked to Zen'i. "Was that a yes? I'm new to this whole Mom-language thing."

The android simply shrugged.

**.x.**

A few days later, Gohan and Koneko trained many miles away from the android and the alien. They sparred lightly, making jokes and playing games more than actually training. Koneko wasn't as fast or strong as he was, but was learning quickly. She shouted and tried to dodge him as he came in behind her. As she burst forward, his fingers just managed to grasp the ends of her long hair.

"Ow!"

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Gohan let her go and she spun around and punched him lightly on the arm.

Laughing, she darted away through the clouds again. "Tag, you're it!"

"I can't believe I fell for it!" Gohan hung his head and grumbled. He floated back down to the ground and put his fists on his hips. "Koneko! You win!"

She swooped down and hovered just out of his reach. "Really?"

He was looking off at the eastern horizon as he nodded absently. Koneko touched down beside him and looked up into his eyes. His mind was far away. "Gohan? You ok?"

"Yeah." He sighed. "Just thinking about the past."

Koneko sat down on the grass and pulled her knees up to her chest. "It must have been tough for you. I at least didn't have anyone to lose." He stood where he was and closed his eyes. "Who did you lose, Gohan?"

He turned to the girl and looked down on her. Her eyes were soft and friendly, and too old for her teenage body. He sat down beside her and continued to look east. "Everyone but Bulma."

He then proceeded to tell her about the last days of the Z Warriors, May 12th, the day the Jinzouningen arrived - the day his hope died. "I couldn't believe I was alive and they were all dead. Bulma was a wreck, but she still had you. I went back to my mother's house and let her take care of me for a while after I buried them all."

"How old were you?" Koneko knew very well that Gohan was far older than she.

"I was ten."

She bit her lip. She hardly remembered the various trials and tribulations she had been through most of her life. They all blurred into one solid hardship until the day Zen'i spared her from her brother. Gohan's memories had sharp edges. He, like her mother, had known peace. She tried to work these memories out of him now.

"Your father died before they showed up, didn't he?"

He nodded.

"That must have been so hard on you and your mom!" Koneko realized that he hardly ever spoke of his family and had been living at Capsule since she met him. Mrs. Son must have been long dead. "Did it break her heart?"

"Nah. She was stronger than that." He looked to Koneko and smiled, knowing the girl wouldn't stop asking questions until she knew everything. He leaned back on his elbows. "I went to live with my mother and I thought that Bulma would be ok. I didn't even know she lost you for a few years. After a while, I started working out again. I wanted to be ready for another confrontation with them. I tried to get myself up to Super Saiyajin like my father and yours had been able to do. Once I reached Super Saiyajin, I started to fight them. They seemed to like it, because they left me alive after every encounter. I was always able to pop a Senzu and come back another day."

"A Senzu?"

Gohan raised his brows. "Oh! You don't know about them! Senzus are these little beans that restore your health one hundred percent. Very handy, at least until you run out."

He sobered. "One day, when I was helping the victims of another attack, I met this girl." He was far off again. Koneko imagined he was picturing what he was saying. "Her name was Videl. She came home to live with me and my mom. Eventually, we found a man who had been a judge, who thought we were nuts, to marry us. We hadn't be married a week when…"

"They attacked?" Koneko offered after a long pause.

He nodded. "I don't know which one did it. The whole house was leveled. I couldn't even tell who was who!" He growled and clawed the earth as the emotion built up. "I buried them next to the Z's." Gohan sighed. "While I was there, just finishing up, Bulma came to visit them. I was surprised to see her in the shape she was in, and to learn you had been lost. I was angry. There was no way I was gonna let her go,too." He made a face, having forgotten who he was talking to. Gohan laughed nervously and summed up quickly. "Then I ran outta beans and bought the farm!"

Koneko snorted at the joke quietly, but didn't smile. "I can see why you keep your distance around Zen'i." She stood and hugged herself.

"She's fighting Polian right now, isn't she?" Gohan asked, annoyed.

"Yeah. They're turning out to be better friends than she and I were."

He scowled. "I've noticed that."

Koneko looked nervous. She wished that he could see what she had seen; that the android was free of the initiative which forced her to do what she did. Perhaps he just needed time to heal. She sighed and lay back on the tall grass.

"She's not a number anymore. She's free," Koneko began but gasped suddenly. This started Gohan, but he was more startled when she leapt up into the air and began flailing her arms and legs, screaming bloody murder.

"What?! Koneko, what is it?!"

"A bug! Ah, getitoffme!!" She patted every square inch of her body, trying to locate the offending insect. Gohan's keen eyes saw something small and green hop off the terrified girl. He caught it in his cupped hands and blinked from it to her before bursting out laughing. She calmed down and blushed furiously.

"You freaked out that bad over a grasshopper?"

She folded her arms and pouted. "I hate bugs."

Gohan dangled the insect by its legs and chased her home with it, laughing all the way.

**.x.**

After dinner that evening, Zen'i was silent and left without saying good night to anyone. When she arrived at her little house on the outskirts of town, she was surprised to find Polian there. He was hiding something behind his back.

She glared at him for an answer. He merely gave her that 'I can play that game too' look. "All right, what do you want?" she asked coldly.

"Well if you're gonna be a bitch then I'll just take the present back."

Her eyes lit up. "Present?"

He smirked. "Close your eyes and say the magic word."

She made a face and put out her hand. "Now."

He laughed and gave her the gift.

"A new shirt!" Zen'i cried and turned her back on him. He was annoyed for a second before she pulled off the bright green shirt she was wearing and put on the new white-with-striped-arms shirt he had given her. "Thank you, Polian," she smiled softly.

"That's better. Now, you gonna tell me what crawled up your ass and died this afternoon?"

She was used to his friendly abuses and didn't bat and eye. She sighed and offered him a chair. "I miss my brother."

**.x.**

A little over six months passed, and the Capsule Corporation, as well as the rest of the world began to rise from the ashes. A new dome structure was just being constructed to the north of the underground labs in the heart of the Western Capitol, which was now being called Shin Hoshi City. The inhabitants wanted to name it Briefstown. She was deeply honored, but Bulma refused, citing that she was not the only person who helped others during the Jinzouningen holocaust.

**.x.**

To the north, many miles from any human population, deep in the lower level of a cave, a man paced back and forth in front of an overgrown test tube. His clothes were greyish and filthy. His hands were covered with grime. He rubbed these together, turned and glared at the tube again. A green LED timer on the massive computer behind him counted down from 00:00:52:19:022.

"Less than an hour," he hissed. He put his back against the super computer and slid down to sit on the floor. "You brilliant bastard. I can't believe we're working together, Father," he said out loud to the decapitated, cybernetic head of his creator. Gero started blankly at the generation tube. "In a short while, I'll finish your directive. Even if she is stronger than me, Juuhachi won't be able to stop me." He nodded to the tank before him. "This bad boy'll make it easy, don't you think, Father?"

There was, as usual, no response from the long dead scientist.

"You never were any fun, you know, Gero?" Number Seventeen pouted and dozed off.

**.x.**

Koneko strolled out in to the sunshine and stretched. "Come on, guys. Let's get a move on!"

Zen'i and Polian followed her out the back door. It was a perfect day. Small, white, fluffy clouds dotted the distant horizon.

"Gohan, come on. The day's a-wastin'!" Polian called to the hidden door after they had stood waiting for him for a few minutes.

"You guys go ahead! I er… I have a little bit of a headache!"

Polian shrugged. Koneko stuck out her tongue but took off without him. Zen'i looked to the door and rolled her eyes before following the others to their favorite place to spar.

Inside the house Bulma put her hands on her hips. "A headache?"

"Sorry, I choked!"

She smiled back at him.

**.x.**

The sound of water burbling woke Juunanagou only minutes before the timer was to go off. He jumped to his feet and grinned wide. "Finally!" He laughed like mad and banged on the glass with joy. "Wake up, you big old walking apocalypse!!"

At the command of the computer, the liquid began to drain away from the form within. "Come on, come on." Juunanagou hopped up and down from one foot to the other impatiently.

Its eyes opened. It flexed its muscles. It stared at the android. "You are Number Seventeen," it stated.

Juunanagou blinked and stopped dancing. "Uh, yeah. Hey, you can talk. I didn't really expect you would." He scratched his head. "You're Artificial Human Cell," he pointed at the monster before him. "And you're pretty fugly."

Cell squinted but stood still as robotic arms removed the glass tube as if the monster within was a cake.

"So hey, let's go destroy every living thing on the planet!"

Cell grinned. "Where is Number Eighteen?"

Juunanagou made a face. "Probably with her little friends," he said in a snotty tone.

"She is stronger than I am. She is stronger than you." The seven foot tall, green, bug-like creature stepped slowly out of the open tube. "But together, we can defeat her."

"Sure thing, Cell baby!" Juunanagou patted him on the shoulder. His guard was down. He didn't see the pointy tail widen into a funnel shape. By the time the android reacted, the sucker was consuming him. He cried out, but only Gero's head paid witness.

Cell screamed as his power level skyrocketed. His features became more humanoid. His grin was far more sinister. "Now, let's find your sister. I must become the perfect power!"

**.x.**

Bulma closed her eyes as Gohan's lips met hers. '_Alone, at last,' _she thought and ran her fingers through his short, black hair. "It's been so long."

"Mmhm. We didn't get much of a chance before I cashed in, did we?"

She giggled, but was startled as he suddenly pulled back. She opened her eyes and saw him looking in horror at the wall past her. "Gohan, what is it?" Bulma spun and tried to see what was so important.

"Wh-what the hell was that?!" he cried.

"What was _what_?"

He used his heightened senses to feel out the sudden boost in power level, but just as quickly as it had appeared it was gone. "Holy crap! That was huge and it wasn't anywhere near the others!"

"Gohan!" Bulma was becoming frustrated. She grabbed his shoulders and forced him to look at her. "What is going on?"

"I don't know, Bulma. I've got to get to the others. There's something out there, something incredibly powerful. This can't be good." It was his turn to take her by the shoulders. "Go down into the lab to the shelter and stay there until we get back. I'm going to take a car out to the others." He pointed to the door and ran out to the hangar.

"A car, but why?"

"Please! Just do it!" Gohan yelled as he hopped into a Capsule car and took off after the other Z Senshi.

**.x.**

Polian's fist connected with Zen'i's palm. The Jinzouningen grinned and powered up. Polian grinned back and revealed what he had been hiding. The energy seemed to materialize instantly from his other hand. As she went to dodge, all three warriors felt the distant power up. Polian's blast flew out of his hand and whizzed past Zen'i's left ear.

"What the hell was that?!" The Namekjin shouted.

Koneko balled her fists and joined them. "Some kinda crazy power!"

"Gohan?" he grimaced.

"I wish." Zen'i faced north and furrowed her brows.

**.x.**

The radio swished and whizzled as Bulma scanned the frequencies. Soon, she found what she was looking for: an emergency newscast.

"...All inhabitants in a 300 mile radius are urged to take shelter immediately. Turn your reception devices down and remain hidden until further notice."

Bulma stared unblinking at the device. "Oh, God, what is it _this_ time?!"

"...the Northern Capitol appears to have been beset upon by a… giant… locust!"

"A _what_?!" She jumped up and flicked on her broadcast terminal. "Attention! This is a rebroadcast of a report I just heard from Radio North..." she informed her area with a high powered transmitter which reached a wide radius from the suburbs of Shin Hoshi to the western wilderness.

**.x.**

Gohan cringed in his car as he heard Bulma's voice. He floored it to the sparring grounds.

**.x.**

In the north, Cell dropped yet another emaciated corpse to the ground. His energy stores were growing. From Juunanagou's memory, he had taken the information about Koneko and Juuhachigou and expected a fight when he would meet them. He would need to be stronger. He needed Eighteen.

**.x.**

"Gohan!" Koneko ran at the craft. "What was that?"

"I dunno but it's headed north."

Polian pounded his right fist into his left. "Then let's go."

"No, not yet." Zen'i seated herself in the car and switched on the CB radio. "Bulma-san, can you hear me?"

"Zen'i?" came the staticy reply.

"The monster's power up came from the north. From Gero's lab."

The Z's gasped. "Are you sure?" Gohan asked.

"Positive. I don't know what it is, but maybe while we're trying to fight it, you can do some research."

"Where's the lab?" she replied gravely.

Zen'i gave her directions and hung up. Gohan glared at her. "What?"

"Don't involve Bulma in this."

Zen'i climbed out of the car and stared Gohan down. She was growing tired of his distrust, but knew that she could do nothing about it. The scars ran too deep. "Whatever was there has already reached the Northern Capital. Besides, if she can figure something out about this thing, we could be at an incredible advantage."

The Namekjin cleared his throat. "So, are we gonna kick some ass or what?"

"Hopefully." Gohan blasted off for the north, followed by the other warriors.

**.x.**

The lab was well hidden but Bulma had the coordinates straight out of the Jinzouningen's perfect memory and located it easily. Dusty and forgotten, it was full of equipment. Bulma saw that the chambers marked 17 and 18 were open. There were others which had been bashed in and the androids within were destroyed. She could only guess what had happened here so many years ago. A headless body, covered with dust lay in a corner. Bulma approached it carefully and discovered (judging by the circuitry exposed at the neck) that this was another unfortunate Jinzouningen. Undaunted, she continued her search.

At the back of the room was a door off its hinges. Stairs hewn from the living rock led from that point down. "I bet the monster came from there," she said to herself. It was dark and creepy, but she had brought a flashlight.

The lower lab was huge, cluttered and not as neatly crafted as the upper one. The walls were rough and various pipes and insulated cables snaked around this way and that. On the left was an oversized, inverted, glass tube hovering over its base. Bulma frowned and got down to business.

**.x.**

The city was intact. That was the first thing that threw them off as they landed. The second was the silence. A car horn sounded without end in the distance, but there was no traffic, no din of life coming from the large metropolis.

"Where the hell is everyone?" Polian listened for any sign of life with his extra sensitive ears.

Koneko walked over to a car and pulled something out. "They're gone." She held up a pair of pants, a shirt and a hat. Soon, they noticed little piles of clothes everywhere.

"You mean to tell me that whatever this thing is just snatched people right out of their clothes?" Polian scoffed.

"You got a better idea?"

Zen'i pouted and flicked her head to the left suddenly. "There."

"I hear it, too," Gohan whispered and balled his hands into fists.

They all turned and for a few seconds and stood in silence, waiting for whatever was hiding just a few feet away behind a building to come out.

"Come on! Show yourself!" Polian shouted, frustrated.

From out of the shadows, a tall form emerged. It was the locust-looking creature from the reports, much more hideous than they had expected and much more humanoid. It dragged the body of young girl behind it.

Koneko gritted her teeth and lunged forward but Gohan stopped her with a motion. "Wait."

"But…!"

"Wait," he repeated and watched the creature's approach.

Finally it stopped and dropped the child. She moaned lightly as she hit the ground.

"She's still alive!" Koneko gasped and tried to approach again.

The creature swished its long, pointed tail around then plunged the tip of this into the girl's back. The Z Warriors cried out in shock, but watched, with horrified fixation as it seemed to literally suck the life out of the girl. Within seconds, she was emaciated then translucent then gone.

Koneko hissed with anger, tears streamed down her cheeks. "Now can I kill it?!"

The creature answered for her. "Yes, Koneko. You can try to kill me, now."

Everyone gasped at its reaction. "How do you know my name?!" Koneko growled. "What the hell are you?!"

It bowed deeply and its fish-like mouth grinned. Straightening, it put two fingers to its forehead and began charging up. "I am Jinzouningen Cell."

_To be continued…_


	5. Part 2 Chapter 2

**Fumetsu no Senshi Tachi Z**

An Alternate Mirai Dragon Ball Z Fan Fiction by Aoikami Sarah

**Part Two - Chapter Two**

"Artificial Human Cell?!" Gohan cried and glared at Zen'i who quickly shrugged.

"That's what I said, Gohan." It grinned wider and its power level rose steadily.

Gohan sneered and prepared for the blast. He wanted to test this thing's strength but what it said next distracted him.

'Masenkosappou!!" Piccolo's trade mark blast spiraled out of the monster's fingers.

"Gohan! Look out!" Polian shouted. He, Koneko and Zen'i shot off their own blasts and diverted the attack.

"How the…" Gohan stuttered. "That attack… that ki…!" His eyes bulged. "No, there's not just one!"

"Who's are they?" Koneko looked around. "Did those just come from him?!"

Cell laughed. He looked at Polian. "You're a Namekjin," it said, amused. "Just like Piccolo. I have a little bit of him in me, so I guess that makes us related."

"What are you talking about?!" Koneko yelled.

"I might as well tell you before I destroy you all. Well, almost all of you." He eyed Zen'i. "I was created to destroy Son Goku and to be the strongest thing in the world."

"By Dr. Gero," Zen'i finished. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Very good, Juuhachigou. But even you don't know the source of my power."

"Got me there, Cell. Tell us," she replied. Fortunately, Cell did not seem to understand the concept of sarcasm.

Gohan collected himself and scowled at Cell. "How do you know how to do a Masenkosappou?! How do you feel like… like…"

"…All the Z Warriors and their opponents? I was genetically engineered from all their DNA which Dr. Gero collected samples of with a tiny robot through the years. I have finally come of age, and now, I shall destroy you."

Cell rushed at Gohan and the fight began. Gohan leapt away and charged up. He blocked Cell's punches and kicks, waiting for a slip up. He blurred and tried to punch Cell in the back of the head, but Cell saw him and dodged. Gohan looked around wildly for it, but it was gone.

Then, from the left, Cell seemed to reappear and slammed Gohan into the ground. It followed him with a ki blast. Polian charged up through the dust and took his turn, but soon ended up back in the dust as well.

Koneko and Zen'i looked to each other and nodded. It was time for a tag team. They darted around it, taking turns punching and kicking and landed more and more hits.

"Now!" Koneko cried and they launched twin blasts at the creature. When the dust cleared, Cell was gone.

"That was too easy!" Koneko grinned, feeling self-confident. "Gohan, Polian, you ok?"

"Don't get cocky. We didn't do anything," Zen'i looked for Cell. "Where is he?"

"Koneko! Zen'i! Look out!!" Gohan cried from the ground.

Cell swooped out of the sky and tackled Koneko. He rained punches down on her, driving her closer to the Earth. Zen'i chased after them and brought her arm up to hit Cell in the back of the head. Suddenly, he let Koneko go, spun and wrapped his arms and legs around Zen'i.

"Now, Juuhachigou. The time has come for my perfection!!" Cell's tail whipped around and the tip of it expanded, becoming a funnel.

Zen'i tried to fight her way free and was very surprised to feel his strength. "You guys! He's been playing with us! Get out of here! He's too…!!" she was cut off as the funnel came down over her head.

They watched in horror as Zen'i was sucked through the tail into Cell's body. He laughed maniacally and began to transform. The light and force he emitted rendered the Z Warriors helpless. They could only watch as his tail shortened, his face became more humanoid and he smirked at their reaction. "Now, I am perfect. I am the strongest thing in the world." The dust settled and Perfect Cell observed them coolly.

Koneko could take it no more and blinded by rage, rushed at Cell.

"Koneko, no! He's ten times more powerful now!" Gohan warned, but she wasn't listening. Her hair turned blonde and her eyes turned green. She tried as hard as she could to put a dent in his shell but her fist was about as effective as a light breeze. He flicked her away like an annoying gnat. She was slammed into the ground and lay there, stunned. Polian was next, and fell in even less time. Gohan's Saiyajin blood began to boil, but he knew that they had to regroup and plan. They couldn't run away in the state they were in. And if this thing had the Z Warriors abilities, it could certainly detect ki no matter where he would hide.

Goku's smiling face popped into his mind suddenly. His words were indistinct, but there was a memory resurfacing. Gohan concentrated as Cell landed and began to walk towards him. '_What was it?' _he thought wildly. '_Dad, what was it you taught me?!' _

There were clouds and strange buildings and lots of people. They trained on a flat plane for what must have been hours on end. Goku's voice became clearer. '_All you gotta do is think real hard, feel out someone's specific ki signature and then…'_

"Got it!" Gohan cried. He placed his fingers to his forehead. Cell grinned, thinking he was going to try to attack him, but the smile fell when Gohan disappeared.

He popped up right next to Polian, quickly scooped him up and before Cell could even turn around, popped back out again. He did the same for Koneko and addressed the monster. "You _are_ pretty strong. But we'll be back to defeat you." He winked out just as he had before.

Cell growled, not able to trace Gohan's ki. He snorted. "So be it, half-Saiyajin. In the meantime, I'll just have to satisfy myself with the waning population."

**.x.**

Mr. Popo fell on his rear and cried out as Gohan appeared and dumped his friends at his feet. "Popo-san! Get Dende!" He put his fingers to his head and disappeared once more.

"Ka-ka-ka-." Popo stuttered. "ka-Kami-sama? Come outside, right away!"

**.x.**

Bulma wiped sweat from her brow as she completed another set of wiring. Within the hour she would be able to interface with Gero's supercomputer. She took a break, stood up and walked backwards to take in the enormity of the machine. Her foot touched something unfamiliar and she found the missing Jinzouningen head.

"Oh, gross! Well, that solves that mystery." She sighed.

Her heart jumped into her throat as she heard footsteps behind her. She imagined the most hideous-looking locust-type creature possible slithering its way towards her and said her prayers.

"Bulma," Gohan said quietly. "It's only me."

"Oh, damn it, you scared me!!" She whirled around and berated him. "What are you doing here? Is it over?"

"No."

"Oh my God, are they dead?"

"No, but it got Zen'i."

Bulma swallowed hard and cursed. "I don't want to lose people anymore, Gohan."

He opened his arms and she hugged him as hard as she could.

"And I don't want to lose you. You're coming back to Kami's Lookout with me."

"No." Bulma pushed away from him. "I have to learn as much as I can about this thing."

"But…"

"No!" she cried, tears forming in her eyes. "I can't stop you from fighting. This is what I have to do. It's all I can do to help."

He pursed his lips and nodded. "You be safe. If anything happens, scream your head off. I might be able to hear you."

"Here," she said and handed him Capsule track phone. "Take this. If I come up with anything, I'll let you know."

Gohan took the phone and smiled at her. Bulma hugged him again. He kissed her gently before stepping back and touching his fingers to his forehead. When he vanished Bulma shrieked and looked around for where he had gone.

"Oh…" she recalled seeing that trick once before. "Could that have been…?"

**.x.**

"Ok," Polian growled at Gohan as he reappeared at the lookout. "What the hell is that little trick? And why have you never shared it with us?" The young God had healed Polian and Koneko in Gohan's absence.

Gohan grinned. "Well, I didn't know I could do it till it happened." Dende, Popo and Koneko listened intently as well. "I learned it two years ago when I was dead."

Koneko frowned. "What?! But I thought you told me you couldn't remember anything from when you were dead?"

"I couldn't! But then in a pinch, a little bit came back. My father taught me."

Popo smiled. "Good old Son Goku. Coming through for us again!"

Gohan smiled back and nodded.

"Well, that's handy." Polian folded his arms. "But it's still just a defense if we're too weak to take Cell on."

"Perhaps I can help." Dende clasped his hands together and stepped forward. "There is a way that you can train to become stronger very quickly."

"The Room of Spirit and Time, Kami-sama?"

"Yes, Popo. Everyone, you can spend a day in this room and train for a year!"

"What? When can we start?!" Polian yelled.

"As soon as you like, but only two people can go in at once and for no more than two days straight. After that time the door to the outside world will become closed to you, forever."

Koneko made a face. "That sounds horrible!"

"Oh, it's actually quite comfortable," Dende reassured her. "Who would like to go first?"

"Koneko and I will go first. And we'll only spend a half a day. Then Polian can go in for the other half. We need to stop this monster as soon as possible." Gohan made sure that everyone agreed then he and Koneko followed Popo to the room.

"Good thing I was wearing my armor today!" Koneko grinned and smoothed her hands over the fabric. Gohan looked down at his normal pants and Capsule shirt which were already covered in dirt and a little torn from the earlier fight. He made a face and wondered how long they would stay intact.

**.x.**

After they were sealed in, Dende turned to his friend and bit his lip. "How bad does it look, Polian?"

He gazed out over the edge of the floating palace. "Pretty bad. This thing said it was made up of DNA from all the old Z Warriors and their foes."

"That explains what we felt earlier, doesn't it, Popo-san?"

"Yes, Kami-sama. We wonder why Z Warriors return!"

"No such luck, I'm afraid. I can only imagine the arsenal of abilities this guy has."

Dende looked very worried.

"We're going to have to keep getting teleported back up here for you to heal us."

"But Polian, you could just…"

Polian shot Dende an evil look and God promptly zipped his lip.

Popo didn't seem to notice the slip. "You go down get Senzu from Karin."

He raised a brow at the small, black man. "Get a _what_ from _who_?"

**.x.**

Koneko and Gohan emerged from the room almost exactly twelve hours later. Their hair had grown and Gohan's clothes were almost nonexistent. Polian chuckled at him as he got up to take their place. He shook hands with both of them and went in.

They sat down and rested. "Woof, that was fun." Koneko stared up at the blue sky. "But it sure was boring looking in there." She loosened the elaborate braids she had put her long hair up into and brushed her fingers through it.

"That's the point, Koneko-chan. To make you concentrate." Gohan stood up and felt out for Bulma, realized she was all right and turned to Dende. "What's Cell up to?"

Popo looked dejected. "He's destroyed at least half the Earth's remaining population so far, but he doesn't seem to know where you've gone, which is good."

"I think that's relative."

Dende nodded.

Gohan stuffed his hands in his pockets and his pants ripped considerably. "Uh, Dende?" he asked. "Would you happen to have some clothes I could wear?"

**.x.**

Early the following day, Polian emerged at last, grinning from ear to ear. "That was refreshing," he said as he strode towards the others. "Hey, Gohan. Nice duds."

Gohan smoothed his hands over the Namek style gi he now wore and picked up the long, white cape.

"Anyone think we have a chance?"

"No, not really," Gohan replied.

Koneko, Dende and Popo stared at him. "What do you mean?"

"We're no match for him, but we don't have a choice. We have to see what we can do." He handed the cell phone to Dende. "Can you communicate with Polian telepathically?"

He nodded.

"Good. If Bulma calls with information that will help us in any way, relay it to Polian."

"Will do."

Koneko debated snatching the phone away and bawling how scared she was to her mother, but looked to the men and changed her mind. Gohan had lost his life once already, she knew he had no fear. Polian didn't seem to be afraid of anything. She hadn't been scared to die when she was with the Jinzouningen, but they were human, sort of. This thing was tall and green and bug-like and creeped her right out the door. She shuddered as she remembered how it had sucked Zen'i up through its tail like she was nothing more than an icy lump in a slushy.

"You ok, Koneko?" Gohan put his hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah." She frowned. "I just hate bugs, that's all."

**.x.**

A woman screamed bloody murder as she watched the monster turn her boyfriend into a husk. Her cries echoed thought the vacant streets and were heard several miles away by three people intent on putting a stop to the terror.

Koneko growled and put another burst of speed on.

"There's no rush, Koneko. There's nothing we can do to help people till we stop him," Polian advised. Gohan felt the last tiny ki die out as they approached. He scowled and said a silent prayer. Somehow, one of them had to win. He knew at this point that it wasn't going to be him.

Perfect Cell grinned and turned to watch the Z Warriors land a few hundred feet away from him. Koneko seethed as she took in the piles of clothes scattered around. This was just too much for her. This world had suffered enough, and no matter what Gohan said about their chances, she was going to try to stop this monster even if it meant losing her life. Crying out in anger, Koneko flared up to Super Saiyajin and charged Cell blindly.

He looked surprised for a second but his grin soon returned as he met her blows.

"Koneko!" Polian shouted. Gohan held him back.

"Let her. You can go in when she needs you."

The Namekjin nodded solemnly and watched them blur up and down the empty city street.

'_He's still just playing!' _Koneko thought as she noticed he was defending. "Attack me, you bloody bug!"

His grin seemed permanent. "If you want." He spun around and punched her square in the face. Koneko flew back into an office building.

"That's it. My turn!" Polian shouted and charged. He split in three but to his surprise, so did Cell. Within moments, Polian crashed through the same building, several floors below Koneko.

Gohan was done watching. He flared up to Super and fired off ki blast after ki blast at the monster. Cell dodged every one all the while flying in closer and closer. The half-Saiyajin was forced to go back to karate as Cell attacked him. '_It can't end this quickly!'_

As if in answer to this, Polian and Koneko swooped in and kicked Cell in the back. The monster was propelled past Gohan into the Earth.

"Take that, bitch!" Polian shouted.

"Such mouths on both of you!" Gohan scolded as he smiled. But it didn't last long. Cell charged out of the crater and came at them again. Polian puffed out his bare chest and powered up first. His aura glowed faintly pinkish. Cell raised a brow but kept coming. Then Koneko looked to Gohan. His nod gave her the signal. It was time to show this bug what they had been up to for the last 6 months. Both half Saiyajin pushed their ki to the extreme. Their body mass increased to almost double what it had been and their auras glowed white. Cell stopped dead in his tracks and blinked at them.

"Well, isn't that impressive?" he snickered. All three of them charged and rained blows down on him. The monster took a few hits, but seemed to take no damage. Polian was the first to be knocked unconscious.

Bringing his hands together over his head, Gohan formed a ki blast. "Masenko!!" Koneko used this as a distraction and swooped in to beat on Cell while he was preoccupied with dodging Gohan's blast, but Cell simply deflected it and was more than ready when Koneko was within range. He leveled his hand at her and fired of multiple blasts all of which met their mark.

After another ten minutes of fighting, Koneko had been beaten up so badly that she had fallen out of Super Saiyajin entirely and Gohan looked like he was going to pass out. Cell backed off and let him catch his breath. "You know, it amazes me how determined you are, Gohan. But I have to tell you that your fight is futile." Without even so much as a grunt, Cell flexed and his power and body mass increased in a similar fashion as the Super-Super Saiyajin had.

"You don't think I know that?" Gohan spat some blood out of his mouth.

"Then why do you keep at it if you know you're going to die?" He glared at the monster but wouldn't satisfy him with and answer. "Hm." Cell touched down and walked around him. "It's a pity, really. I was so hoping to find a challenge. Oh well." He clenched his fist. "Do answer me one question before I kill you. How did you get so much stronger in the last day?" Still there was no reply. "Hm." He huffed again. "Well then, let me rephrase that. Do you think you could get even stronger still given, oh, let's say a week to train? Do you think you could defeat me after that?"

"A week?" Gohan grumbled. "I'd sure as hell give it a shot."

"Oh, good. You recall the Tenkai Ichi Budoukai, don't you?"

'_The Budoukai?'_ he thought. '_What does this creep have up his sleeve?'_

"You know, my original design was to terminate Son Goku, but since he's not around, my penultimate goal is to be the most powerful thing in the universe. I would like to prove this to you, once and for all. In one week's time, we shall meet again at a location of my choosing and we shall have a little competition. If you win, fine. If I win, which I will, great." Cell crossed his arms and waited for a response. "Agreed?"

Gohan hesitated, but he looked to the unconscious bodies of his friends and nodded.

"Excellent. See you in a week, Son Gohan." With that, the monster blasted off into the East.

Gohan jogged over to Polian and took a little bag off his belt. He removed two Senzu from it and fed one to each of his fallen comrades. They knew by the look on his face, that this ordeal was far from over. As the evening came, Gohan tried to explain what Cell had told him.

**.x.**

Almost thirty-six hours after the last time Bulma had gotten any sleep, she turned away from the monitor and massaged her face. Still no word from Gohan. She sat on the cold, dank cave floor and her thoughts ran wild. "I gotta get outta here," she said out loud and sloughed up stairs. As she ascended, images of death and destruction haunted her. Her worry turned to despair and the tears coursed down her now grubby face.

The wind whipped up the cliff and blew her long, aqua hair around her. She took another step closer to the edge and wiped the dampened hair from her cheeks. "I can't take it again!" she cried out into the canyon. Her voice echoed back. "I just can't!!"

"It won't be the last time."

"Eh?" Bulma turned to find the voice behind her. A slender, alabaster skinned young woman with wild, black hair smiled gently on her with her hands clasped behind her back. Rather than ask what the woman thought she was doing in the middle of nowhere or how she had mysteriously gotten there, Bulma simply hung her head and sighed. "I had a feeling it wouldn't be." She pushed her hair out of her face. "Ever since I met Son-kun my life has been filled with adventure and anxiety. We're evil magnets!"

"You also seem to be particularly good at taking on that evil, don't you think?" She tilted her head to the side and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. The silver ankh around her neck slid from left to right over her black tank-top. She put her hands into the pockets of her pitch black jeans.

"What good were we last time?"

"Well, it did take a few years, but good eventually triumphed."

"At the cost of how many lives?" Bulma growled and looked into the woman's black eyes.

"More than you can count, I assure you."

The women were quiet. A warm breeze replaced the chill wind for a moment. Bulma blinked away the remaining tears, turned from her strange companion and took another step towards the breech.

"Bulma-san," the young woman's tone became more sober. "I don't think you're giving yourself or Gohan and the others enough credit."

Bulma's eyes widened.

"You'd better go home, soon. They're going to be hungry when they get back."

She looked down into the canyon and backed away from the edge. The idea of ending her life seemed so ridiculous now. It was almost as if she had been sleepwalking. "Whoever you are..." she turned to address the woman, but there was not a trace left to prove that another person had been there. "Thank you."

Bulma ran to her car, jumped in and sped off to the southwest.

**.x.**

Gohan shook Polian's hand as the Namekjin went back in for a full two year's training in the Room of Spirit and Time. "Do your best!"

He nodded. Koneko gave him a bear hug and wished him luck. "Ok, where's Mom?"

Her energy was on the move, rapidly southwest and towards home. "She must be in her car heading home. I guess she needs a break." Night turned the sky at this elevation a deep violet and a chill breeze blew over them. "We'll be back in two days, Dende. Thanks for everything."

God smiled and bowed his head. "Oh, do you want this back?" He held up the cell phone.

"No. Keep it. We may need it later." He began walking towards the edge. "Come on Koneko, let's get going."

She pouted. "We're not going to Shunkan Ido there?"

Gohan laughed a little. "I can't. No one's home yet."

"Oh..." She pouted some more and followed him into the air. "It's just it's getting cold." Gohan was quiet, concentrating on something or maybe nothing at all. "Will you teach me to do the Shunkan Ido someday?"

This snapped him out of his thoughts. He smiled at her. "Sure, Koneko-chan. I don't see why not. As long as you watch your language in the future!"

She made a face. "Sorry, Gohan-san."

**.x.**

Bulma ran into the house and was relieved to see Gohan and Koneko raiding the fridge. She hugged both of them tightly and asked about what happened. They informed her of Polian's training and of Cell's declaration. They had one week to get strong enough to defeat him.

"But, how do you expect to do that in such a short period of time?" she asked and sat down on a stool at the table.

"Oh, Mom, you should see this place! It's so vast and vacant that you can't believe you're only in one room! It's like another world!"

Bulma blinked. "'Vast and vacant'? Since when do you use words like that?"

"Oh, I guess Gohan's rubbed off on me." Koneko smacked her lips to express her thirst and went to get a glass of water. As she walked away from the table, she undid her hair. An extra six inches of her already waist-length, lavender hair cascaded down. Bulma turned slowly to Gohan and although he was talking to her, she didn't hear him. She stared at his shaggy hair.

"What the hell happened to you guys?!" she shouted and jumped back a few feet.

"Mom?"

"Your hair, it's grown!"

"That's because of the room we were in. One day equals 1 year in there!" Koneko sipped her water, relieved that that was all that was wrong.

The young mother began to sniffle.

"Mom? What's the matter?" Koneko approached her.

"My baby's growing up so fast!!" she cried and hugged the teen.

**.x.**

After dinner, Bulma broke the bad news about her troubles with Gero's encryptions. She had no information for them and wasn't sure when she could get any. They all talked about the crisis and encouraged each other. Bulma started nodding off around 9:30 so Koneko decided to call it a night.

"See you bright and early tomorrow morning, Koneko!"

"Oh, yeah, _bright_," she play whined.

When Koneko had disappeared around the corner, Gohan turned to Bulma. "Ok, you can stop pretending now," he said with a sly grin but there was no response from the overworked scientist. "Bulma?" Gohan asked and thought about nudging her but decided she deserved the rest. "Well, I suppose you've got the right idea." Gohan picked her up and took her to bed.

**.x.**

The landscape rolled below him as Cell flew across the continent looking for the perfect place. After forests and mountains and lakes he finally found a nice, flat plain. He touched down and nodded his approval. Now all he needed was granite. Well, there was plenty of that in those mountains he had passed. It wouldn't be long before he had everything he needed to make his own private Budoukai.

**.x.**

Dende had nearly worried himself silly by the time Polian emerged a few minutes late. He laughed at his short friend and thanked him for his concern.

"Holy crap, Polian. You look huge!" Koneko marveled.

"Yeah well, I guess I was jealous of you two." He winked at them.

"It's not as helpful as we hoped to go past Super-Saiyajin," Gohan replied. "The extra bulk of level two is harder to handle and it slows you down."

"I noticed that. That's why I've been training in this state almost the whole time."

"The _whole time_?" Koneko poked his muscles. They were as hard as steel.

"Yup. I suggest you guys turn on the SSJ and stay that way. It'll make level two fell like level one."

"Great idea!" Gohan smiled and flared up.

Koneko re-braided her hair and did the same. "Ok, let's go."

"Polian, I take it you're going back to Capsule?"

The Namekjin nodded.

"Take care of Bulma for us. We'll be back in two days."

"No problem."

**.x.**

Bulma fell asleep in the lab on the futon she had brought with her. The scientist had all but moved in to the place, but she made sure not to get too comfortable. It had all the ingredients for creating a mad scientist. To help ward this off, she propped the severed Jinzouningen head she had found against the supercomputer. There, it stared at her, egging her on to break through the encoding and find a way to aid her friends.

For two days she ate and slept in the underground chamber, emerging only when she knew Gohan and Koneko would have to take a break from the room of Spirit and Time.

There were two reasons why she wanted to remain in the lab rather than go home. The first was that she knew her daughter would now be nearly nineteen years old (only seven biological years her younger). The second was that after two solid days of work, she had made zero progress.

**.x.**

When Bulma did go home, the smiles her friends had for her erased all of her anxiety. They looked well, and were far more confident about the outcome of the battle ahead.

Cell seemed to be taking a breather as well. No one had heard from him since he had commandeered a radio station and announced his intention to take on all comers at a Budoukai he called the 'Cell Game'.

"Cell _Game_," Gohan spat. "He thinks this is amusing. That's all this is to him - a game."

"A game he intends to win." Koneko winked at him as she finished off a large bowl of rice. "Though he's going to regret letting us train so long, right, Gohan-san?"

"Yup, Koneko-chan. I hope so."

"_Hope_ so?!" Bulma slammed her palms down on the table. "You told me you guys had this contest in the bag!"

Gohan put his chopsticks down and tried to calm her. He had lots of practice from years of living with his mother's explosive temper. "I guess I phrased it wrong."

Defeated, Bulma slumped into her chair. "You mean we're screwed?"

"I didn't say that either. I don't think I'll know if we can win till we get there."

She looked dismal. Gohan pouted and tried to think of some way to cheer her, but it was hard to do with such a burden causing all of them such grief. Koneko put her own chopsticks down and excused herself.

"Bulma," Gohan stood up and cleared the dishes. "I won't lie to you. I don't know." She was silent. "We could lose. He's tremendously powerful and he has Juuhachigou, er, Zen'i, inside him." Still, she hung her head and pouted.

"You might leave me, Gohan?"

Her words struck him in the chest. "Well, not intentionally." He regarded her for a moment and an idea came to him. "I'll try to stick around. At least, a little bit of me will," he muttered.

"Hm?"

He shook his head and smiled sweetly. Gohan extended his hand and invited her to retire for the evening.

**.x.**

Koneko walked the few miles to her best friend's little house on the outskirts of town. It was very dark, but she followed the road and utilized the scant starlight.

As usual, the door to the little house was unlocked. Koneko let herself in and yanked the dangling chain on the lamp above her head on. It was a very still, warm night. No breeze blew through the open windows. Koneko seated herself at the table and rested her head on her folded arms.

"Don't worry, Zen'i," she whispered. "We'll get him. I'll get him for you."

**.x.**

Two days later, as night fell on the ravaged world, Polian, Gohan and Koneko had traded off once more in the room of Spirit and Time. They gathered together now atop Kami's Lookout and waited through the last day together.

Bulma insisted she go back to the cave and work as hard as she could. Gohan and Koneko allowed her to do so with the condition that once she had found anything she take her air-car immediately to the lookout.

"Well, tomorrow morning," Polian grunted.

The others simply nodded.

**.x.**

Bulma had worried her upper lip a little raw. She sat on the floor, staring into a monitor, clicking occasionally on a keyboard. One virtual door would open then another would close again and again. "Come on, you bastard," she hissed. "You can't keep me out forever. Or can you?"

The nearby android head stared at her from the floor. "What do you want, you nasty thing, you?" she demanded. Bulma gasped and blinked as she finally recognized the thing's face.

"No way..." She tossed the keyboard aside, scrambled across the dirty floor on her hands and knees and grabbed the head. "Dr. Gero made himself into an android?!" She remembered his face from press releases she had studied during peacetime. It was unmistakable.

His cranium was a little damaged but with a bit of jerry-rigging, Bulma plugged it into her interface and then that into the supercomputer. She accessed and removed all the useful information from Gero's head's databanks. She then fed this into the super computer and it opened up like a flower.

"Well I'll be damned!!" she cheered and smiled. Her scientific mind was very pleased, but her heart soon caught up. This man had been the cause of her suffering for the last fifteen years or so. Her eyes refused to blink as she stared at the cybernetic head. Then she reeled back and spat in its face. Unplugging it and taking it by the hair to the lip of the cave, she hurled the offensive object with a cleansing scream down into the ravine.

"It's a pity," she said to herself. "That such a genius could be so evil."

**.x.**

Dende nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the cell phone ring in his pocket. He fumbled with the strange device and managed to turn it on.

"Uh, H-hello?"

"Dende?!"

"Um, yes, this is Dende..."

"Are they still there?!"

"N-no, they went to meet Cell."

"Shit! Hang on, I'm coming to you!" the voice on the other end shouted and the connection closed.

"Bulma-san, wait!" Dende cried, but she had hung up. He stared at the phone uselessly. "Polian and I can hear each other's thoughts."

**.x.**

"So, you showed up after all." Cell grinned as the Z warriors touched down. "Nice cape, Gohan."

"Guess he got a sense of humor with his last power up," Polian muttered.

"We're not here for small talk, Monster. What are your rules?"

He snorted but his smile was etched in stone. "You lose if you give up, die or fall out of the ring." Cell gestured to the large, granite, square arena behind him.

Gohan sneered. "Impressive, but you really shouldn't have."

"Now who's making small talk?"

The tension was high, but Gohan came back smoothly. "Got me there." His tone was peppered with animosity.

"Let's get started, shall we?" Cell bowed slightly to him, but looked a little shocked when Polian stepped forward. The Namekjin cracked his knuckles and walked into the ring. "Alright, this should be quick. You're pathetic. I'll destroy you so quickly it won't even be fun for me."

"Too bad." Polian charged Cell and the fight began.

Koneko and Gohan stood with their arms folded. Their heads flicked back and forth as they watched the Namekjin try his hardest to do any damage to the monster. Their green bodies flickered as they blurred about the ring. Polian's body was holding up fairly well against Cell's punches and kicks. Then Cell swung around and roundhouse kicked Polian in the jaw. They pulled back and observed each other for a moment.

"Oh come on, Namekjin. Don't play with me. I'm far more powerful than you could ever hope to be. You've had a week to train, so show me your true power!"

"Sure thing." Polian flexed and pushed his aura to pink. Cell raised a brow and took him on again.

"Wow, this looks good!" Koneko cheered.

"No," Gohan droned. "Cell hasn't powered up at all yet."

The smile fell from her lips.

The monster yawned as Polian tried to buffet him with his fists. Polian growled and back-flipped away from him in the air. Cell followed. The Namekjin powered up and Cell sneered. Polian shot of a huge power attack and Cell simply put up a hand to deflect it.

Suddenly, Polian seemed to flicker out, much like he was moving instantaneously, but then Cell realized that he was right behind him. The blast he expected to receive never came. Instead, Polian shot off his blast point-blank into Cell's upper, left back. When the dust cleared, everyone, including Cell was astounded to see that Polian had blown a huge chunk out of Cell's shoulder. He clutched his arm, dumbly and blinked in surprise.

Polian laughed loudly at the stupid look on his face.

"Polian! Don't just stand there, finish him!" Gohan shouted, but it was too late. Cell was already laughing back as he began to regenerate the missing body mass faster than any normal Namekjin could.

"What the hell?!" Polian gaped.

"I'm part Namekjin, remember?" Cell grinned and rubbed the new shoulder. "You will regret that," he muttered and charged him again.

Polian gritted his teeth and got ready for the next barrage. The people on the ground were shocked as Polian took a left hook and slammed into the granite ring. Cell flew down and waited for him to get out of the smallish crater. Polian took his time. His fang protruded substantially over his lower lip as he smirked at the monster.

"I give."

"What?"

"What?!" Gohan cried.

Polian walked off the ring and joined his friends. "I give up. I can't defeat him," he said loud enough for Cell to hear him.

"You know you're all going to die anyway. Why prolong it, Namekjin?"

"'Cause I know it pisses you off to not feel superior."

Koneko and Gohan stared at him, dumbfounded.

"And," he whispered. "I just got a message from certain short, green God we all know and love." They held their breath. "Bulma's on her way to the lookout. She has something."

Gohan raised his fingers to his forehead. "Koneko. You take care of him for a while."

"Sure thing, Gohan-san."

"Polian," he pulled a small bag off his belt "Here ya go."

Cell, who had been watching them, grew impatient. He spied the bag and knew what it had to contain. He leveled his hand at the group and shot off a small beam. The bag and the Senzu inside it were instantly vaporized.

"Ah ah ah," he scolded. "No fair. When I beat you, you _stay_ beat."

Gohan growled at him, but knew that time was of the essence. "Kick his ass." He nodded to Koneko and Shunkan Idoed to the lookout.

_To be continued…_


	6. Part 2 Chapter 3

**Fumetsu no Senshi Tachi Z**

An Alternate Mirai Dragon Ball Z Fan Fiction by Aoikami Sarah

**Part Two - Chapter Three**

Bulma threw her arms around Gohan and talked at him a mile a minute.

"Whoa, slow down! What did you find out? Can we beat him?!"

"I think so!" She patted a bag she had around her shoulder. "Let me just put this sucker together." Bulma opened it and dumped the contents on the ground. About ten capsules fell out. She picked these up and began popping the caps and throwing them away from herself.

"Bulma, we really don't have time for this."

"Just give me a second!" she snipped at him as her hands flew to work. "Anyway, I can tell you what I know at the same time! First off, according to Dr. Gero, Cell's goal is to reign over the entire universe by collecting all the energy from every living thing in it. Gero knew that he went completely insane when he made Cell. He recorded his fall into madness in the diary I got out of his own head."

Gohan sat down, amazed and watched her. "Koneko's fighting Cell right now."

"Really? How's she doing?"

"I don't know. She'll hold out for maybe ten minutes if she doesn't dig down for her true power," he murmured.

"Well, I believe in her. If she could destroy Juunanagou… Oh! Guess what?!" Bulma shook a screw driver at him. "Cell told you he's perfect, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, he got that way by absorbing _both_ Jinzouningen."

"What? Both? But he was destroyed!"

"I know, but when ya think about it," she said as she danced around the steadily growing contraption, "Our wish was to revive everyone killed by an android. Koneko sort of figured that out a while back but I chose to ignore her because the idea of him kicking around scared the crap out of me. Pretty stupid, right?"

"Uh, yeah…"

"There." Bulma stood back and admired the machine. It was almost six feet tall and looked sort of like the Eiffel tower on crack. It had what looked like a satellite dish with two, thin-barreled gun-looking things jutting out from its middle. "I call it the SLo-FO or Super Low Frequency Oscillator. What do you think?"

"It's great!" he cheered, but scratched his head. "Will it kill Cell?"

"Well, no. That's up to you. This sucker will blast him with two very low frequency sounds. When the beams cross the amplitude will be doubled creating a sub-sonic frequency jarring enough to give Cell the tummy ache of his life!" Bulma struck a pose and thrust her index and middle fingers into the air. Gohan blinked at her. She sighed and folded her arms. "Which will cause him to expel one, if not both of the Jinzouningen he has consumed and force him to revert to Imperfect Cell."

"Oh, wow, Bulma! You're so great!" Gohan jumped up and hugged her.

"I know, I know." She blushed.

"Ok." Gohan put one arm around her and one arm around the machine.

Dende and Popo waved sheepishly at them and wished them luck as they vanished.

**.x.**

Meanwhile, Koneko was getting a severe beating at the hands of Cell. She had tried every trick she could think of but he seemed to know what she would do before she even had a chance think about doing it. Again and again the teenager was slammed down on to the granite fighting surface, which was beginning to look more like a gravel bank.

She hauled herself out of another crater and struggled to get to her feet. Her uniform was torn and blood oozed from several lacerations all over her body. She powered up as much as she could.

"Koneko! You can do it!" Polian cheered. They both knew that she couldn't.

"That's it!" Cell goaded her. "That's closer to your true power!"

She pushed herself up to Super Saiyajin level two and charged Cell once more. He side-stepped her and spun around, chopping her thigh with the underside of his right hand. Koneko cried out as her femur snapped. Cell took advantage and slammed his fist into her abdomen. She spit up a good deal of blood as the monster rained blows down on her. Her hair returned to its normal, lavender color. It wasn't until his fairly sensitive ears picked up a strange, low, humming sound that he stopped hitting her.

"What the…?" he wondered and looked to the source.

Bulma bared her teeth as she aimed the device at the monster. The guns swiveled and locked into place.

"Take that, bug!" she shouted and flicked a switch. To the onlooker, this seemed like something incredibly foolish to do. The machine didn't make a perceivable sound to Saiyajin or Human ears. Polian and Cell heard it loud and clear. The Namekjin held his ears and backed away. Cell dropped Koneko, but before he could put his hands up, the sonic rays began to do their job.

Cell held his stomach and made a face.

Gohan stood clear of the weapon. "Is it working?!"

"Hell yes!" Bulma grinned. "Get Koneko out of there!"

Polian took his hands off of his pointed ears, ran out and scooped the girl out of the gravel. Gohan watched Cell intently.

His body contorted and he began to wretch.

"Come on, you sonofabitch, give us Zen'i back!!" Bulma shouted.

Finally, Cell bent double and vomited out a Jinzouningen. Gohan raced in and snatched up the android before it hit the ground. He was shocked to see black hair under the layer of slime. "Oh no!" he shouted.

"What?" Bulma looked to him as he touched down near his friends.

"It's Juunanagou!"

"What...? But, he went in first." She wasn't looking at Cell anymore and didn't realize that she had moved the crosshairs off of her target. Cell screamed and powered back up again.

Gohan thought fast and scooped up Bulma as well. Cell shot an energy beam at them and blew up the offending weapon. He was significantly weakened and mad as hell.

"All right, you don't want to play fair!? Fine. I'm changing my rules. You give up - I kill you. You fall out - I kill you, or, I just kill you!!"

"Fine with us." Gohan sneered. "Polian, you want to give it another go?"

"No. Koneko needs my help."

Gohan and Bulma looked at him strangely.

"Uh, ok." He turned to face Cell. "Looks like it's my turn." Gohan lifted Juunanagou up and made sure he was unconscious before dumping him on the ground. He stepped into the ring and removed his cape.

**.x.**

Polian picked up Juunanagou and Koneko and urged Bulma to follow him out of sight of the battle grounds. Once they were around a smallish mountain, Polian laid them down and put his hands on the half-Saiyajin.

"And just what are you doing to her?" Bulma frowned and asked him.

"I'm saving her life." His hands glowed and he closed his eyes. "I haven't done this in years, so it may take a while."

Bulma was confused but nodded.

Koneko's eyes fluttered open. "M-Mom?"

She kneeled down and held her daughter's hand. "I'm here, Koneko-chan."

"Please, Juunanagou…"

"Don't worry, he's offline." She wiped some of the blood from her face.

"No, fix him."

"What?"

"Reprogram him. He can help us."

Bulma looked to the android and shook her head.

"Please, Mom. We can't lose again."

She bit her lip and reluctantly pulled her capsules out of her bag.

**.x.**

Gohan met each of Cell's blows with blocks and began to get confident. Cell on the other hand was getting nervous. He flipped back and snarled at his opponent. "Why don't you turn up the juice, Gohan? Why are you denying me the pleasure of defeating you at full power?"

"Well," Gohan smiled. "Like Polian said. It pisses you off. That and I don't need to go that far to beat you. Now _you're_ the one who's pathetic, Cell."

**.x.**

Bulma finished inserting the interface she took from the lab into Juunanagou's head just as Polian finished healing Koneko. "Polian, I thought only members of the Namekjin Dragon Clan could heal?"

"You got it. It's a long story, ok? Go help your mother." Polian frowned and leapt up into the air to return to the battle ground.

She shrugged, thanked him and joined Bulma.

**.x.**

Cell became winded as Gohan laid on the damage. He pulled away and tried to think of what to do.

Gohan smiled and waited, knowing that Cell was getting madder and madder every second. His smile fell though as Cell began to chant some very familiar words...

"Ka… me…"

**.x.**

Koneko took over the keyboard, found and deleted the two evil applications instructing the Jinzouningen to kill and enjoy it. Then both women unplugged him, stepped back and waited.

Juunanagou's eyes flicked open. He sat up on the ground and scratched his head. He heard the fight in the distance and his eyes grew wide.

"Juunanagou, are you all right?" Koneko asked tentatively.

"Wh-What have I done?" he muttered and stared at the Earth, his brows arched in remorse.

Bulma pouted. "Look, freak out later, ok?"

He looked up at her with those perfect, cold, blue eyes. "I killed your husband and I raped your daughter. Why did you help me? Why do you pity me?"

Bulma repressed the urge to punch him in the face and said calmly, "I _hate_ you, but we _need_ you. So quit feeling sorry for yourself and get out there and help Gohan! Your sister's still in that thing, you know? If you give two shits about what little life is left on this planet, you'll snap out of it and help us fight this thing!!"

Koneko bit her knuckles, fully expecting Juunanagou to tear her mother's head off. Instead, he slowly stood and looked to the battle field.

**.x.**

"Ha… Me…"

"I don't think so." Gohan growled. "That belongs to my father! You have no right! KAAMEEHAAMEE!!..."

**.x.**

Juunanagou, Koneko and Bulma joined Polian at the edge of the ring. Bulma had to hang on to her daughter so as not to be blown away as the two combatants powered up.

"HAAA!!" both shouted and fired off the famous attacks. Cell's came down from the sky and Gohan's up from Earth and it was clear to see that Gohan's was far more powerful. Cell's beam was consumed by Gohan's and finally he was pushed backwards. Then he screamed out as the energy disintegrated his body and forced the remains into outer space.

Gohan powered down completely, turned and smiled to his cheering friends. He took a deep breath and began walking back to them. Polian stopped clapping and stared up at the sky.

"Zen'i," he whispered.

Juunanagou looked up as well. "Juuhachi."

"What the hell is he doing walking?!" Gohan frowned as he noticed the Jinzouningen.

Koneko stepped in front of Juunanagou and tried to explain. "He's all right now, just like Zen'i was..."

He glared at him. "Yeah, but this one killed _me_."

Juunanagou met his fierce eyes. "I'm sorry, Gohan. I'll be sorry for the rest of my existence for everything I have done to this planet."

Everyone looked at him in wonder. Distracted, they didn't have the upper hand as an energy blast hurtled out of the sky. They all turned in time to see it hit one of them.

"Mom!!" Koneko screamed as the thin beam lanced Bulma through the heart, killing her instantly.

Cell descended to Earth, his tail was short and his features were humanoid again. He was emitting a huge ki and grinning from ear to ear. "Damn," he cursed. "I hit the weak one. Oh well."

Koneko cradled her mother's body in her lap, completely shocked. Gohan balled his hands into fists.

"What do I have to do to kill you, Cell?! Tell me! I'll do it right this time!!"

Cell laughed, mocking his bravado. "As a Namekjin, I was able to regenerate from a tiny portion of my brain which remained after you blew me up. And as part of Furiza, I am able to exist in the vacuum of space and as a Saiyajin I have returned far more powerful than I was before I was defeated!!"

Gohan screamed, powered up to level two and charged Cell, head on. At first, Cell was obviously more powerful and Gohan took several hits. But with every hit, Gohan's heart bled a little more. The rage inside him built up exponentially as he was slammed back down to Earth. Just before he jumped back up into the air, Gohan burned the image of Koneko holding Bulma's lifeless body into his mind. He growled and flew directly at Cell.

**.x.**

On the ground, Polian watched the fight with his teeth barred. "Damn it! I can't do a damn thing to help!!"

Koneko looked up to him absently and blinked. Then she looked to Juunanagou who, rather than following the battle, was staring at the ground. His brows were knitted together and he pouted like a child.

The teenager clutched her mother tighter and sucked in a deep breath. "What the hell are you doing just standing there?! Gohan and you are the only two people who can even come close to beating Perfect Cell! Mom was right! Stop feelin' sorry for yourself and _fight_!!"

"No, I'm not strong enough." He continued to sulk. "You killed me."

"Don't give me that, I know you _let_ me and Zen'i kill you! You wanted to die, I saw it in your eyes! Even then, guilt was nagging at you. The only way you'll get rid of that feeling is if you help us! Please, Juunanagou!"

He bowed his head, set his jaw and charged into the fight.

**.x.**

Gohan slammed his fist it into Cell's face then Shunkan Idoed to his back and kicked him into a nearby rock outcropping. It was only a few seconds before the grinning monster came back at him. Suddenly, an energy beam out of nowhere hit Cell in the face. Although this startled Gohan he was so focused that he took advantage of the diversion and buried his fist in Cell's abdomen. This combination put Gohan a level above Cell and he used this opportunity to beat him relentlessly. As he fought he spied the source of the stray blast.

"You...?" he grimaced at the Jinzouningen who took a fighting stance. Juunanagou nodded at Cell. The only thing that mattered to Gohan at that moment was winning. Even if he got help from someone he hated.

Gohan upper cut Cell towards Juunanagou who put his hands together and croqueted his head, batting him back to Gohan. They did this three times until Cell caught on and managed to hover between the two men.

"This is ridiculous!" he shouted. "You can't win!"

"Yes we can!!" Gohan shouted and powered up. He nodded to the android to do the same. "Masenko!!"

Juunanagou frowned and put the base of his palms together. His energy beam wasn't very large, but it hit Cell before Gohan's did, pinning him in place. The Masenko was huge and Juunanagou had all he could do to get out of the way in time.

The force of the blast tumbled those on the ground head over heals. An enormously bright flash of light, brighter than the already blinding attacks preceded the sound of the explosion. The world over, everyone left alive turned to see where it had come from. Cell screamed as the power of Gohan's rage did its work. He disintegrated for the second time that day.

Juunanagou floated back down to Earth as the debris which had been Cell fell all around him.

"Juunanagou! Quick!" Polian shouted as he raced towards them. "Zap the little bits of him before he regenerates again!"

He nodded and pointed his index finger at a piece of greenish-black matter. A thin beam emitted and vaporized it. He walked around, scanning with his enhanced android abilities until he had destroyed every last bit of the menace he had unleashed.

Gohan watched him do this and walked slowly back to the women. Koneko was still sitting on the ground, her arms tightly wrapped around her mother. He squatted down in front of her and held out his arms. Reluctantly, Koneko gave her to him. Polian and Juunanagou joined them.

"We did it." Koneko whispered.

Gohan wrapped Bulma in his cape and picked her up. "Yeah, we did."

Polian folded his arms. "This is way too depressing. Haven't you forgotten something? Bulma's never been dead before, has she?"

His eyes widened. He looked to his friend and a smile formed on his face for the first time all day. This infected everyone else but the Jinzouningen.

Koneko looked to him innocently. "Juunanagou, would you help us collect the Dragon Balls?"

As usual, the android pouted, but looked out to the rubble-filled battle ground and whispered his sister's numerical designation. He nodded and followed them as they flew off to the west.

**.x.**

The sun was just rising as Koneko and Juunanagou returned with the number six, three and four Dragon Balls. They joined Polian and Gohan and dropped the orbs down together. Next to them was a human form under a white sheet.

The balls began to glow. Shenlong snaked up into the now darkened, dawn sky and asked them for their two wishes.

Gohan swallowed hard. "Please resurrect those who were innocent and killed in the last two weeks."

"I will bring back everyone but Cell," Shenlong repeated and granted the wish.

The sheet stirred and Bulma moaned. To her right, the figure of a woman materialized. Bulma stood up and Gohan tackled her. Koneko hopped up and down in place, her hands clasped together and smiling with tears streaming down her face. She waited for her turn to hug her mother.

Polian's fang poked out as he smiled at Zen'i. She looked at her hands and blinked.

"Yup," he grinned. "You're alive. And I've got a wish for you." Polian looked to the dragon. "Shenlong, can you make the Jinzouningen human?"

"No. I cannot. Their power exceeds my abilities."

"Figured," the Namekjin moaned.

Zen'i stepped forward and took his hand. "Thanks. It's the thought that counts."

Bulma had heard this and called up to the dragon. "Then can you remove the self-destruct mechanisms from them? I can't do it without blowing us all to kingdom come!"

Everyone was shocked at this request, no one more so than Zen'i and Juunanagou, who were unaware they possessed such devices to begin with.

"Your wish is granted," Shenlong agreed.

Zen'i felt as if a weigh over her chest had been lifted. She was at loss for words for a moment. Her eyes widened. "Wait, 'them'?" She turned and saw the new member of the group. "Juunanagou?!"

Koneko gave a goofy grin to Zen'i's questioning look.

"Juunana!" the blonde cried and hugged her brother tightly.

"Hey." Juunanagou smiled slightly and returned the hug.

"Are you here to stay?"

He shook his head. "No. I need to think." He let her go and lifted slowly off the ground. "Later, Juuhachi."

Koneko blinked at the Jinzouningen. "Juunanagou..." she whispered and was amazed to find herself worrying about his feelings. She then remembered what she was waiting for. She turned back to get her hug and nearly fell over. Bulma and Gohan were kissing, passionately, completely oblivious of their audience. Polian rolled his eyes.

"Mom?! Gohan-san?!"

Polian clapped his hand on her shoulder. "Well, you had to grow up sometime, Kiddo."

She threw his hand off and barked at him. "I'm twenty years old now, Polian! I just didn't know!!"

Zen'i chuckled lightly and smiled at them in wonder.

Bulma and Gohan came up for air and laughed at Koneko's red face. The sun rose on the new day and the Z Warriors greeted it with mirth.

People everywhere woke up, alive, and laughed and cried for joy.

The world was safe again, for now.

_To be continued…_


	7. Part 3 Chapter 1

**Fumetsu no Senshi-tachi Z : Shouyuu**

_An Alternate Mirai Dragon Ball Z Fan Fiction by Aoi-Kami Sarah_

**Notes:**  
The following story contains Japanese phrasese. Please look to the end of each chapter for definitions.  
You may have noticed the strange, black haired woman who talks to Bulma in Tsuzuki (Part Two). She makes many more appearances in this part. I borrowed her from the comic The Sandman by Neil Gaiman. Click here for a pic. -aks

**FNSTZ: Shouyuu - Chapter ONE**

Crickets chirpped in the shadow of early evening in the yard outside the new Capsule Corporation dome structure. Polian and Zen'i walked up the path to the main entrance. New employees had stopped giving the six-foot-five alien strange looks a few weeks ago. Zen'i smiled.   
"I guess they're used to you."  
"Huh?"  
She nodded hello to a man in a labcoat who smiled and said good afternoon to them.  
"Oh, yeah. You too, ne?"  
"Mm," she agreed and tossed her head to the side. Her long, blond locks fell back into place behind her. Polian opened the door for her and they both entered the house.

Bulma, Gohan and Koneko were busy in the kitchen, making cold, gazpacho soup and sandwitches.  
"Konnichiwa!" Zen'i called and accepted a hug from Koneko. "Smells good, Bulma-san."  
Gohan grinned. "Yeah, she's a regular Chef Boyardee."  
Koneko smiled. 'Finally,' she thought. 'They're being completely civil, and they don't even realize their doing it!'   
Koneko had worked very hard in the last few months since the Cell Game to bring the members of her extended family together, and it seemed to finally be paying off. The all sat down to a friendly dinner and chatted into the evening.

As coffee and tea were brought in to the living room, Koneko seated herself next to Zen'i on the couch.   
"So, how's your brother doing?" she asked quietly so as not to disturb Gohan and Bulma who were busy showing Polian pictures from peacetime.   
Zen'i put her cup down. "I don't know. He won't talk to me."  
Koneko pouted.  
The Jinzoningen raised a brow. "Why do you ask?"  
"Just curious."  
Zen'i folded her arms. "I'm a little worried about him, actually."  
"Oh?" she pried.  
Zen'i gave her another strange look before continuing. "Well, he's hasn't said two words to me since I came back to life. He lives in this little, abandoned shack in the woods and mopes around all day. It can't be healthy."  
"Mmm... Where is this shack exactly?" Koneko mused.  
"You mind telling me what you're planning, Koneko-chan?"   
She simply grinned.

*  
Later that week, Gohan and Bulma were busy resurecting the Capsule Corporation and Polian and Zen'i were off to another community, helping to reestablish its infrastructure.   
The town of Tsedona had been heavily hit by the Jinzoningen early on and had served as a refugee camp of sorts for many years. There was no plumbing or electricity, but within the month, the two Z fighters would change all that.   
"Doumo arigatou gozaimasu!" a small, fox-person chimed as he jogged up to the pair. "Once we have plumbing, so many of our worries will be over! You will save many, many lives!"  
"Save lives?" Polian asked.  
"Yes," the man indicated to the puddle-ridden gutters along the street and a large rain barrel that a woman was dipping a canteen into. "We suffer so much from cholera, influenza, encephilitus and malaria here because of the stagnent water. Many members of this community have died from these aflictions."  
"Don't you have medicine?" Zen'i put down a 40 foot section of pipe and dusted off her hands.   
"A little, but it's hard to come by. Our hospital also needs plumbing and electric."  
"Hospital..." she whispered. "May I see it?"  
Polian put a hand on her shoulder. "You won't like what you see."  
She ignored him and they followed the man to the hospital.

The smell of sickness: a stale, bodily stench which lingered in the building despite its many broken windows, was almost overwhelming. Zen'i touched an aging carbon scar of a blast mark just below a sign which read 'emergency room'.   
"Damn it," she whispered.  
"You don't have to do this."  
"Yes, I do."  
On cots and on the floor in the rooms and in the hallway of the in-patient ward, were hundreds of the sick and dying. Zen'i examined each face as she walked through. None of them recognized her for the weapon she had been. With her long hair and dirty clothes, she now looked like one of them. However, they did gawk a bit at her Namekjin companion.   
As the fox-man pointed out various aspects of the building's decay to Polian, Zen'i walked in to one of the rooms, lured there by the soft whimpering of a child.   
There were about ten people crowded in the room, all unattended, sick and waiting to die. Zen'i looked for the source of the crying.   
A short, pale woman wearing clean, black clothes squatted down next to a todler with curly, black hair. The little girl hiccuped as the woman said something to her.  
"No, I'm sorry. You can't come with us," she soothed the girl. A woman with the same, curly hair lay slumped against the wall in front of them.   
She sobbed and pet the woman's hand, entreating her to wake up  
Zen'i approached tentatively. Her mouth opened. The pale woman emitted no ki whatsoever. "What... What are you?" she stuttered.  
The strange woman stood and faced her, smiling pleasantly. "I'm endless."  
Zen'i backed up a step.   
"It's ok, I'm not here for you again." What little light filtered into the room glinted off of the silver ahnk around her neck.   
Suddenly, the face was familiar. Zen'i looked to the woman on the floor. She was dead. The girl was still sobbing but had given up on the corpse.   
Death squatted back down. "Shhh, it's ok, Sweatheart. Someone's come to take care of you." She motioned for Zen'i to come closer. Zen'i's eyes widend. She was about to refuse such an absurd idea when the child looked up at her.   
Her eyes were grey and huge, filled with tears. She pouted and rubbed the back of her hand across her grubby face.  
Death stood back up and waved good-bye to Zen'i. "Ganbatte kudasai."  
"Demo..." the Jinzoningen protested.   
The little girl ran to the android and grabbed on to her legs. She hugged her, hard.   
When Zen'i looked up, Death was gone. "Wait! Chotto matte kudasai!" The little girl looked up at her with those huge, watery, grey eyes and began to cry again.  
"Ie, Ie, don't cry, please." Zen'i crouched down and took the girl by the shoulders. "I guess... you're with me."  
She blinked, sniffled and lunged at the Jinzoningen. The hug she gave her was unlike anything Zen'i had ever felt. Warmth coursed through her and her heart swelled. She picked her up and carried her away from the decay.

"Oh, there you are," the fox-man said as he saw Zen'i emerge from the room. Polian did a double take. Zen'i put her finger to her lips. The girl had fallen asleep against her shoulder.   
"Who's kid is she?" he asked quietly.  
"She's mine, now." Zen'i walked back out of the festering building into the sunshine and blinked back tears before anyone could see them.

*  
A fir tree groaned as it fell to the forest floor. The young man with the pony tail picked up a pair of enourmous, steel tongs and clasped the trunk. He dragged the one-hundred-foot-tall tree behind him, back to the clearing. Then he chopped off the limbs with a sizable axe and piled the branches according to size. He then took a two-person saw and cut the trunk into long, thin planks. After he was done, he sat on a nearby stump and wiped his brow with his sleave. He took a drink from a bottle of water and pouted.   
"How long do you plan on watching me work?"  
Koneko was not surprised that he knew she was there, only that he hadn't said anything earlier. "Well, you're done now." She stepped out from behind the shrubs in which she had been hiding. It was a hot, late summer day and she was wearing shorts, a blue tank top and her hair up in two pig tails that still fell past her waist. "So this is what you've been up to?"  
Juunanago didn't answer. She bit her lip, but kept trying.   
"Must be lonely. It's so quiet!"  
"I LIKE quiet."  
"Oh." She walked over, dusted off another stump and seated herself across from him. Koneko cocked her head to the side and stared.  
He stared back with a blank, slightly annoyed look on his face "What?"   
"I'm trying to figure you out," she announced and continued to stare.  
"Why?"  
"Why?" she asked back. "I don't know, cause no one else dares to. Cause your sister misses you and wonders why you don't talk to her..."  
He winced at the mention of her. 'What's her name again?' he thought, 'Goodness or something...?'  
"Why don't you come over tonight? It's a Wednesday. We usually play cards on Wednesdays at her house. Bulma and Gohan will be busy with Capsule affairs all this week, so they won't be there. It'll just be Polian, Zen'i, me and you. Sound good?"  
"That's right, Zen'i," he chuckled. "Goodwill. How ironic."  
Koneko pouted. "You don't like it?"  
"Did I say I didn't?" he asked without any genuine nastiness in his voice.   
"I gave it to her." Koneko hopped off the stump and brushed some wood chips out of the ends of her hair with her fingers. "I could give you one too, if you want, Juunanago."  
As she expected, he didn't answer. She regarded him for a moment before taking to the air. "Tonight after dark. Be there, or be lonely. It's up to you."

He waited untill she was almost out of sight before watching her leave. Juunanago pouted, sighed and got back to work.

*  
"Here." Polian put the pile of children's clothes on the counter in the bathroom. "These should fit."  
"Arigatou." Zen'i smiled and selected a cute, denim jumper with a bright, red flower on it. "Here ya go, kiddo," she helped the little orphan get dressed and began brushing her still wet, shoulder-length, curly, black locks. "There. What do you think?"   
They both looked in the mirror at her reflection. She was rosey cheeked and clean, but her eyes were still red from crying and echoed a deep sadness. Zen'i picked her up and took her into the living room.  
"Are you hungry, sweetie?" she asked. The girl nodded and put her fingers in her mouth. "Well, let's see what we got, hm?"  
In the refridgerator there was a bin full of apples, some questionable eggs and butter and not much else. "Wow, looks like I'm going to have to go shopping. Between the two of us, Polian and I really don't eat that much," she explained. The girl gnawed on her fingers nervously.  
"Oh, Sweetie, you shouldn't chew on your fingers! Here." She gave her an apple and looked to Polian. "Wanna come shopping with us?"  
The look he gave her told her he thought she had a screw loose.   
"Humor me, Polian. Her mother died, right there in front of me. What else was I supposed to do, just walk away?" she whispered.  
"Well, no. But are you sure this is something you can do?"  
"I don't know," she said and watched the girl devour the apple down to the core. Still hungry, she began to eat this too.   
"Oh, sweetie, you don't have to eat that yuckie part! Here, have another!" she chimed and got her another piece of fruit. Zen'i's heart skipped a beat when the little one looked up, took the apple from her and smiled for the first time.   
"Come on, family," she grinned at Polian. "Let's go shopping."

*  
When they came home, they were surprised to see that the lights were on, but quickly remembered that it was Wednesday.   
"Konban wa!" Koneko chimed as they came in. Polian put several bags of groceries on the table.  
"Hi, Koneko!" Zen'i looked radient. "There's someone I'd like you to meet!"   
The young woman blinked a few times before looking down where Zen'i pointed.   
"Say hello, Sweetie-pie!"  
The black haired girl blushed and burried her face in Zen'i's skirt.   
"Awwwww.. kawaii!" Koneko crouched down and investigated. "And where did you come from?"  
"She was orphaned," Polian remarked. "We're, uh... taking care of her."  
"Ara?" Koneko bolted back up and looked from the Jinzoningen to the Namekjin and back a few times. "You guys are... parents?"  
"I supposed so!" Zen'i blushed.  
"Sugoi!" She hugged them both. "Well, isn't this the perfect time! The whole fan damily's here!"  
Zen'i blinked as she put down the bags of groceries she had gotten. "Nani?"  
"You can come out now!" Koneko called.

The group stood motionless, waiting. A large sweat drop appeared above Koneko's head.   
"Please, come out...?" she hissed.  
Slowly, Juunanago shuffled into the room with his hands stuffed in his pockets, rolling his eyes much like a true teenager.   
"Juunana!" Zen'i gasped.   
"Konban wa, Imoto. Nice rug-rat." He mumbled and tilted his head towards the little girl.   
Zen'i smiled. 'At least he hasn't lost his knack of putting things so suscintly,' she thought.   
After the groceries were put away, the strange group settled down to a game of cards.

"Ha!" Juunanago shouted. "Gin!"  
Polian threw down his remaining cards in disgust.   
"Finally!" Koneko gathered the cards while Zen'i tabulated the score. "Someone who can beat the Great Namekian Card-shark!"  
Zen'i giggled. Her little girl crawled under the table and emerged on the other side in Juunanago's lap. Koneko chuckled at the surprised look on his face.   
The girl turned around in her uncle's lap and faced the other players. Her little hands reached out for cards.   
Polian grinned. "I think she wants to play."  
"I think you're right," Juunanago replied. "And she wants to sit where the winning happens, right Chibi-chan?" he asked her. She turned her head around and smiled broadly at him. They all laughed.  
  
As they taught her how to play, Juunana leaned over and whipsered to his sister. "She doesn't talk much, ne?"  
"She doesn't talk at all. I think it's psychological."  
"Oh." He looked down at her and couldn't beging to imagine the rough times this poor baby had seen.   
A dark shadow came across his face. He sighed and picked her up. "Shitsureshimasu," Juunanago excused himself and went to the door.  
"But Juunana, it's only eight o'clock," Koneko pointed out.  
"I'm sorry, I have to go." He made the mistake of looking at the girl he called Chibi-chan before ducking out the door. Her smile was gone and those big, grey eyes were filling with tears. Juunana left quickly and flew off into the night.

After he left, Chibi-chan was inconsolable.   
"I think it's time she went to bed," Zen'i decided.   
"Yeah, I guess that's the way with little kids." Koneko cleaned up and bade them good night.   
  
As she walked back to Capsule Corp., a thousand thoughts played in Koneko's mind. There was so much to think about now. Their lives were all changing. She only hoped she could help make everything all right.

*  
A few brightly colored leaves blew around the eastern side of the new community center in Atarashii Hope. The morning light filtered through the saplings which had been planted only three months ago. Children of every age entered the halls, chatting excitedly amongst themselves. The Namek and the Jinzoningen walked slowly beside their little girl, who was wide-eyed and nervous. They came at last to her classroom.   
"Hey there!" Gohan called. "I was wondering when you'd show!" He greeted his friends and patted the little girl on the head. "Ready to learn, Chibi?"  
She hid behind Zen'i and Gohan laughed. "Don't worry, it doesn't hurt you to learn!"  
Zen'i crouched down and made sure that everything was in place. "Ok now Chibi-chan, we'll be back at noon. Have fun and be nice to Mr. Son. This is his first day too!"  
"Gohan," Polian asked aside. "Will it be a problem, her not talking?"  
"No, Polian. Many of these children are at disadvantages and different levels of learing. It will take time to bring every one of them up to speed." Gohan smiled at Chibi and took her to her seat.   
Her 'parents' waved good-bye and went to work.

*  
Koneko picked up another log and hefted it over her head. She marched this back to the clearing and dropped it down with a tremendous thud next to the others. She took off her flanel shirt and tied it around her waist.   
The sky was shockingly blue and the air was clear and smelled like the falling leaves. The temperature had reached nearly 75 degrees already and it was only noon.  
"If it weren't for the trees, it'd be hard to believe it's October!" she shouted to her companion.  
"Ee," Juunanago replied.   
That was about all she could get out of him most days, but it was better than silence. She couldn't understand why he liked it so much. She had wanted to bring a radio out with her the first few days she had started working with him, but knew that it would just upset him. She wanted him to feel comfortable around her.   
Every day it got a little better. He didn't stand quite so far away from her and had more patience with her often silly ways.   
Koneko watched him whip the axe around and remove the branches from the trunk of a tree with ease and smiled. Maybe it would work. Maybe she'd ask him to Capsule for dinner sometime soon.

*  
Chibi's head went down at her desk for the third time one Thursday afternoon. Gohan had woken her up twice all ready, and as he saw this, he was both frustrated and worried.   
"Chibi-chan, wake up sweetheat," he advised.  
She didn't stirr.  
"Yoshito, could you nudge her awake please?" he asked the boy who sat next to her in the middle of the classroom.   
The boy nodded and did as he was told. He nudged her a little too hard and the girl fell out of her chair.   
The class made a collective gasp and everyone got to their feet. Gohan rushed in to the middle of the desks and picked the girl up. Her face was bright red and she was covered in sweat. No matter how much he tried, Gohan could not wake her.  
The class filed out of the room and he jogged her down to the nurses' office.

Polian and Zen'i held up either end of an I-beam as a team of rivoters secured it in place, high above the city streets. The pair dusted off their hands and got ready to get another 800 pound beam when they both froze in midair.  
"Polian! Zen'i!" Gohan's voice echoed through the streets. Their extra-sensitive hearing picked it up and they quickly excused themselves from their task.

"WHAT HAPPENED!?" Zen'i demanded and stroked Chibi's damp hair.   
"She has malaria. It's been going around the children recently. If they run around at night, they get bitten by mosquitos and contract the disease," a nurse coldly informed her.   
"Are you accusing me of being neglectful!? She loves to run around and chase fireflies..." her voice trailed off. "My God, it is my fault..."  
Polian tried to comfort her, but she was too angry.   
"Well, give her medicine! Make her better!"  
"We have. It doesn't seem to be working."  
Zen'i looked to Polian quickly. "Please!" She clutched at his shirt. "Heal her, Polian!"  
"I can't..."  
"YES! Yes you can, I believe in you!"  
"It's not that simple. Even if I had become a healer like I was supposed to, I wouldn't be able to save her. We can heal abrasions, broken bones, that sort of thing. This is a natural disease."  
"Then maybe Dende!?.."  
He shook his head.  
"The Dragon Balls!?!"  
Again he shook his head.   
"Shimatta! This isn't fair!!" Zen'i squeezed the unconscious girl to her chest.   
"Ma'am, I wouldn't get too close, she could be contageous."  
Zen'i laughed darkly at this. "I can't get sick..." She glared at the unfeeling nurse. "I'm a Jinzoningen."  
The woman stepped back a few paces.  
"A Jinzoningen..." she repeated and looked down at the helpless little thing in her arms. "If only...."  
"Zen'i?" Polian asked when she went silent.  
"Come on!" she cried suddenly. "We're going to Capsule!"

Koneko led an unsure Juunanago through the halls of the house. She called out to her family, but no one answered. She shrugged to her companion and offered him a glass of water and a seat.  
"I'm sure they'll be home soon."  
Juunanago observed his surroundings. Bulma had decorated the room with framed photographs and old newspaper articles about Capsule's success from before the holocaust. He tapped his foot nervously. "Well, I really don't think..."  
Juunana's excuse was cut off as Gohan entered the room. The Jinzoningen stood up, politely.   
"Oh, Gohan-san, you're home..." Koneko began but saw the weary look on his face and immediatly began appologizing for the Jinzoningen's appearance. "He's my guest, Gohan-san..."  
"It's not that," he stopped her. "How are you, Juunanago?"  
He blinked at him. "Genki desu, Anata wa?"  
"I'm all right, but I'm afraid your neice is not."  
"Chibi-chan?" he asked, a little alarmed. Gohan had them both sit down and explained the strange situation.

Bulma flicked on the lights to the lower lab. Zen'i's skin crawled, but she followed, desperate to find a way. Chibi shivered in her arms as the seizures brought on by her malaria began.   
"It was down here." Bulma led the way around the back of the super-computer which lay dormant in the middle of the room. Cell's empty test-tube was to their left. They both let their gaze linger on this for a moment, remembering their deaths.   
Back in the shadows, in a pile of boxes and parts, was a oval shaped pod. Bulma took the sick little girl from Zen'i and instructed her to bring the pod up.   
Eagerly, she jogged it up the stairs and put it down. She wiped a thick layer of dust from its surface.

In the same, bold font as her and her brother's pods, the number 15 was written with an overscore. Below this was a note, handwritten by the Madman himself.   
'15: Chibi Prototype Juugogo'  
Inside the short pod was a Jinzoningen whom Zen'i had never seen before. It had dark, green hair and alabaster skin and appeared to be an artifice of a human no more than five or six years of age.  
"Kamisama, what was he planning to do?" Zen'i stared at the little android.  
"According to his journals, he wanted something that had the appearance of pure innocence. He made 20 child-Jinzoningen. Fifiteen was the only one that wasn't a total failure in one way or another. Gero was a perfectionist, I'll give him that much."  
"Can we do it?" Zen'i turned and took Chibi-chan from Bulma. "Can we really save her like this, or would we be condemning her to an eternity as a child?"  
"If we succeed, I can take my time in figuring out how to upgrade her."  
"Really?" she asked, still not taking her eyes from the two children.   
"You're her mother, Zen'i," Bulma advised. "It's up to you."

"So they're at the lab now?" Koneko asked after Gohan finished telling them what Bulma and Zen'i were doing at that moment.  
"Yes. Your Okaasan said that she would call when she knew more, but it may take a while."  
"Is that really possible?" she asked. "Do you think they can really make Chibi-chan into an android?"   
"If Gero took my sister and I and made us what we are, then I suppose so, but," Juunanago furrowed his brows. "If Chibi-chan is dying..."  
Gohan stood and looked out a window at the setting sun. "It's a race against time."  
"But we're also talking about the most brilliant woman on the planet and a Jinzoningen whom I happen to know never accepts defeat. My sister loves that little girl. She'll do anything to help her."  
Gohan met Juunana's eyes and nodded.  
Koneko sighed inwardly. 'Nothing like crisis to bring people together,' she thought. "Where's Polian in all this?"  
Gohan sat down across from Juunanago. "He went to speak to Dende."  
"Who's Dende?"  
"Our friend, Kamisama."  
"You're friends with God?" Juunana asked, skeptically.   
Both Gohan and Koneko couldn't help but smile a little at the comment.  
"Then I guess praying is out of the question."  
"It never hurts." Gohan pursed his lips.   
Koneko took the silence as an oppertunity. "So, Juunanago. Since your house will be empty tonight, would you like to stay for dinner?"  
"I don't eat very often, but thank you very much all the same."  
"Douitashimashite."  
"Could you do me a favor, though, Koneko?"  
Her eyes brightened at this. "Sure! Anything!"  
"Keep me informed, if anything happens?"  
"Of course."  
As the sun set, Juunanago walked back to his sister's house.

*  
Sometime around three AM, Koneko tossed and turned in her bed. The sheets were strewn all over. She groaned, unable to catch a wink of sleep, put her hands behind her head and stared up at the ceiling. A slight breeze picked up and blew across her body from the open window. She closed her eyes, relaxed and smiled.  
In a few moments, the smile fell from her face. Her brows came together and she groaned again; this time, more uncomfortably. Koneko writhed on the bed and brought her hands down to touch her skin.  
"What the hell's wrong with me?.." she complained. Desire was pulsing through her for no reason. She had never felt it that intensly before. Sure, she'd been hungry for it, but never insatiable like this. Her brain squirmed and made her think strange things.   
She needed satisfaction. But with whom? Gohan? No, her mother would kill her. Polian was most probably not equipped for the task...  
'No,' she thought as she sat up suddenly. 'No no no no... Not him. I couldn't.. He WOULDN'T...' She blinked.   
"Maybe I could.. Maybe he WOULD!"

Koneko crept around the side of the small house on the outskirts of town. It was pitch dark, but her well trained eyes made use of the starlight. 'Now, which one is HIS window..?'  
"Koneko?" asked a surprised voice from behind.  
"OH! Hi Juunanago.."  
"What are you doing out here?" He sounded half cross and half bewildered.  
"I was actually..." Her tone fell into a sultry one. "I was looking for you..."  
"Nan.. nani?" He stepped back a pace as she slinked towards him.  
"Juunanago, I don't know what's overcome me, but," she couldn't belive she was doing this! "I need you."  
"Are you on drugs? You DO know who you're talking to, don't you?"  
She giggled a little. "Yes! Isn't that crazy!" She reached out and touched his chest, but he batted her hand away gently.  
"You're obviously sleep walking or... maybe you ate something halucinagenic.. or.."  
"...Or maybe I know you can do the job right."  
"NANI!? You ARE on drugs! Hello! I used to force myself on you, remember!?"  
She licked her lips and nodded. "Uh huh. I think it's you who've forgotten. After that first time, how many times did I say 'no' to you?"  
"Well I..." Juunanago thought back.  
He had evaded his sister on several other occasions and had his way with the half-Saiyan, but now that he thought about it, she HAD never said no! He stopped backing away, but held her straying hands to prevent her from going any further.  
"Koneko, This isn't right."  
"Why not? Who says?" she pouted seductively.  
'Strength 17, strength!' "Well, your mother for one!"  
"What she doesn't know can't hurt her.." Koneko continued to fight his grip, but stopped after a few moments. "Juunanago, do YOU say? Don't you want me?"  
'STRENGTH!' "Well.. that is.. I..."   
She looked like she was going to cry all of a sudden. Juunanago gritted his teeth.  
'SO, I'M A WEAKLING!' He pulled her to him and kissed her neck. She cried out with joy.

Koneko panted next to the Jinzoningen. Both of them were covered in sweat. She climbed back on top of him and lay down, staring into his icy-blue eyes. He blinked at her and wondered at her smile.   
"It's a lot more fun when you're not making me do it!" she purred.  
He smiled a bit at this, but the awe would not leave him. He had never been able to appreciate her subtler aspects in the past. Her petit form was toned and her skin was tan. Every limb bore a scare or two, attesting to her difficult life. Despite this, she was so soft, and her hair was so long and silky against his skin.  
She had come to him. She, who's life he had threatend for months. She who's world he had destroyed; who's father he had killed. Juunanago closed his eyes. She was too bright to look at. Koneko sighed and snuggled in.  
He gingerly pushed her off of his chest and sat up in bed. Koneko leaned back on her elbows and observed him in the light of a solitary candle. His skin was glistening and perfect. He was beautiful; a perpetual teenager. His soft, jet black hair covered most of his face from this angle.  
"Are you ok?" she asked.  
"I don't deserve this."  
Koneko gasped. Pity overwhelmed her. "Everyone deservers a second chance."  
"Not me!" He sounded lost.  
"Especialy you!" She wanted to look him in the eye to furthur convince him, but gave him his space. "You didn't have a choice."  
"How can you be like this!? How can you forgive me for what I've done!?"  
"I don't need to forgive you for something you had no conrol over doing. You need to forgive yourself... in order to heal."  
"Oh? And how do I do that?!" he asked, frustrated.  
"You need to care about yourself."  
"Well I can't!"  
"If I can..." she put her hand on top of his. "You can."  
There was a brief silence. Koneko prayed that he was geering up to turn around and smile and everything would be alright. He hung his head down.  
"I don't deserve to be happy." Juunanago's voice cracked up a bit and he fell silent. Koneko stared at his naked form. He may have been impervious to all harm, but at that moment, he was completly vunarable. With his back to her he mumbled. "I think you should go home."  
She stayed where she was and tried to think of something to say, but the right words wouldn't come. Actions spoke louder than anything she could have said. Koneko put her hand on his shoulder. When he didn't resist, she inched close to him and enfolded him in her embrace. She squeezed his chest, nuzzled the back of his neck and waited for a reaction.

The Jinzoningen shuddered. He closed his surprised eyes tightly and struggled as he involuntarily tried to escape her grip. His discomfort was then magnified as a myriad images played against the back of his lids.   
A million victims, their fear slashed across their horrified faces; lovers in each other's arms, cowering in terror before being snuffed out like a pair wooden matches, paraded through his brain.  
Juunanago gritted his teeth and began to moan as the memories flooded him. He could no longer feel the girl's arms around him. He couldn't hear her soothing words and soft shushing. Pitiful, pained cries escaped his lips as he was tortured by the images and sounds in his head.   
Then he saw her, younger and helpless on the ground, clutching her shredded clothing to herself, crying. He screamed, still unable to stop the barrage.  
"Nnnnnnnnnnaaaaaaaaaaaaa......!!!!"  
Koneko only held him tighter. She squeezed her own eyes shut and held him down, preventing the android from flying away from her.   
Suddenly his shouting stopped. His chest heaved with the exertion. At last, as if he had surfaced from the pool of his waking nightmares, Juunanago regained his senses and opened his eyes. She was still wrapped around him and her warmth flooded him straight to his core.

It was a few momentst before Koneko realized that he was crying. He folded his arms over hers and hugged her back, tightly, sobbing heavily. She rocked him in her arms and kissed the meeting of his neck and shoulder. "I'm going to MAKE you happy, whether you want me to or not," she whispered.

*  
Sometime around dawn, Bulma's exhaustion began to catch up with her. They had managed so far to get a life-support facility up and running and it was already prolonging the little girl's inevidable death. The adroid body was opened up and waiting for the transplant. Bulma finished accessing all the raw data Zen'i would need to complete the process. She downloaded it straight into Zen'i's brain and unplugged the interface.   
"Got it?"  
Zen'i nodded, wide eyed with the clarity of the plans. "It's amazing," she wispered. "He really was a genius."  
Bulma nodded sleepily.  
"You'd better go home. No offense, Bulma-san, but the more tired you get the more human error can factor into the equation. Besides, it's not going to be pretty from here on in."  
"None taken." The woman got to her feet and fished the Capsule car out of her pocket. "I'll tell Polian it'll take a few days."  
"Don't let him come here."  
"Huh?" she asked, a little shocked.  
"I'm probably not going to be reachable once I get into this. I may go a little mad myself for a while."  
Bulma nodded. "Gotcha. Good luck, Zen'i."  
"Thanks, Bulma-san. For everything."

*  
It was the wee hours of the morning when Bulma came back to her home. Her daughter's room was dark, and Gohan was snoring lightly in a chair in the living room; a copy of Mary Shelly's Frankenstien open on his lap.   
She picked the up book, dog-eared and closed it. "Science fiction," she whispered. Gohan stirred.   
His big, brown eyes fluttered open and he stretched. "Hey, how'd it go?"  
"Don't know yet." She stood in front of him, exhausted.  
Gohan took his hands out of his lap and pulled her down into it. She snuggled in and gave up her fight to stay awake as he picked her up and took her to bed.

*  
Only a day remained until the end of the month. With the turbulent last few days, everyone had forgotten about All Souls Eve: the night when ghosts, spirits and demons were said to roam the Earth freely.   
Koneko had been told that before the holocaust, people had celebrated this day in fun and intersting ways, dressing up in scary costumes in order to frighten the oni away. Those who did not dress up and who stayed at home were said to be visited by the spirits and in order to keep themselves from harm, offered them treats.   
As soon as she realized that this un-holy holiday was going to be revived, Koneko decided that this would be a good way to help her shake the anxiety she felt about Chibi-chan.   
  
"Still no word," Bulma sighed as she finished checking the messages on the answering machine.   
Koneko bit her lip as she finished hanging up another bit of false cob-webs. "I'm sure everything will be all right."  
"Koneko-chan, what ARE you doing?"  
She gave her mother a silly grin. "Making the house SPOOKY!" she extended her arms and wiggled her fingers at Bulma as she said this.  
"Don't you think you're a little old for All Souls Eve?" she asked.  
"You're never too old, blah, blah!" Gohan shouted in a funny accent as he jumped out from around the corner, wrapped in a long black cape. Both women screamed near identical screams.  
Gohan grabbed Bulma and pretened to bite her neck. "Ze count ees a thousand years olt unt he still likes to pahty! Blah blah!"  
"God, you two!" Koneko covered her eyes and giggled.

*  
As night fell on the evening of the 31st, Zen'i was still hard at work. The little girl's body was pale, but machines breathed for her and an electrical current forced her heart back in rhythem when it faltered.   
The Jinzoningen hadn't uttered a word in three days. Her fingers flew as she fought against time, re-working the empty shell of the prototype. She seemed to always be just one step away when another hurdle would present itself. Configuring the intricacies of Chibi-chan's brain into binary code had been the easy part. Forecing her into her new host was beinging to look impossible.  
A flicker of light from the left caught Zen'i's eye, but she detected no movement.  
"What do you want?" she asked roughly.  
"You know what I want."  
Zen'i gasped and swung her head around to see. Many color-coded wires which sprouted from an exposed port on the right side of her head just above her ear swished with the movement. Her hands, programmed by the information Bulma had given her kept up their monotonous task as she spoke. "You can't have her!"  
The thin, pale woman pouted. "If you keep this up, you may be right."  
Zen'i gawked. "You mean... it's going to work!?"  
She folded her arms. "I don't approve, but I can't stop you from trying. Just like I couldn't stop Gero."  
Zen'i's fingers ceased their tireless work. "How DARE you liken me to him!" she belowed, deeply ofended. "He was a madman!!"  
"That's true," she admitted. "But when he made you an android, that madman saved your life."  
"You.. you know about my life?..." she whispered.  
"I know about everyone, Zen'i..."  
Zen'i wanted to beg Death to tell her what she knew, but a light, pinging sound alerted her that her girl was slipping away again.   
"Kuso..." she hissed and turned her back on the woman. "I don't care!! I don't care about anyting but my daughter! I WILL save her!!!"   
Death took a seat on a lab table and waited.

*  
"...And so he went to the graveyard the old woman told them to go to, and they looked around for her name," Gohan's eyes moved over his audience.   
Bulma looked relaxed enough, but her eyes were wide with anticipation. Koneko sat with her feet tucked under her, clutching the arms of the chair. Juunanago blinked, beginging to wonder if this story was made up or not.  
"They couldn't find it. But just as they were about to leave, his buddy Saturo tapped him on the shoulder." Gohan reached over and tapped 17 on the shoulder and whispered to him, bringing him further in to the story. "Hey, dude... Isn't that your jacket?"   
"Sure enough, Yasuhara's jacket: the one he had given the girl called Maki at the dance the night before because she was so cold, was draped over one of the stones.  
"They both walked up and Saturo got a stick and lifted the jacket off the marker," Gohan leaned in and whispered.  
"'Here lies Fujitsu Maki, who loved to dance.'"  
Koneko made a short, whimpering sort of sound.  
"They dropped the stick and the jacket and high-tailed it out of the county as fast as they could and never returned again."  
"Waaa! I'm never gonna SLEEP again!!!" Koneko wailed.  
Bulma shuddered. "Wow, that was great! And speaking of sleep, I think it's getting a little late."  
Juunanago blinked a few times and repressed a shudder. "Yeah, I should be heading home. Maybe there's a message from my sister or Polian."  
Bulma and Koneko bid him good night, and everyone retired for the evening.

About a half an hour passed and the light in Bulma and Gohan's window went out. Koneko grinned and opened hers.  
"I thought they'd NEVER turn in!" she complained as Juunanago stepped through the tall, french-style doors.   
"Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, if they catch me here I don't think I'll be invited over for social calls ever again."  
Koneko smirked and pulled her nightshirt over her head.  
"Ok, that shut me up."  
"Besides," she whispered as she pulled his belt off and began unzipping his pants. "I need someone to keep away the things that go bump in the night."

Somewhere around four AM, Juunanago nudged the sleeping half-Saiyan awake. She groaned, but smiled when she remembered who was doing the nudging.  
"Mmmm... what, again?" she asked seductively.   
"Nah, I have to go."  
She pouted and grabbed a hold of his lithe body. "Noooo..." she whined.  
"Yesssss," he smiled and gently took her hands in his. He kissed them and got out of bed. "I stay any longer and they may realize what we're up to. It's a little early to tell them yet, da yo ne?"  
"I guess," she sulked.   
Juunanago bent and stroked her hair. Koneko gave up her childish actions and sat up in bed. She put her arms around him and squeezed, emmitting a soft humming sound as she did so.  
"Koneko," he said as he took her chin in his hand. "You've done it."  
"Nani ikimashita?"  
"I'm happy." He smiled and kissed her on the forehead.  
She melted. He waved as he buttoned his shirt and left through the window. The cold, night air washed into the room for a moment before the window closed behind him.

Koneko shivered herself awake a few hours after her lover left her. She wrapped the comforter tighter around her naked body and tried to go back to sleep. It wasn't enough. Still cold, she got up and put on her nightshirt.   
"Shimatta, Juunana," she thought and wandered drowsily to the window. "What do you live in? A barn?" When she got to it, she realized the window was closed.   
"Hrmph." Rubbing her arms, she went to the room's thermostat. It was set at 70 degrees. She turned it down and back up, heard the familiar distant hum of the heating system turn on, but felt none of the end product.   
"Damn it." Koneko frowned. "Screw it, I'll sleep in the guest room."  
She tapped the virtual door nob, and expecting the moden thing to slide open for her, she stepped forward and slammed her nose into it.  
"Owww! Kuso tare..." she hissed and got mad. "Sometimes, I really hate technology!" She grabbed hold of the manual lever and pulled, but it wouldn't budge.   
"Perfect," she grumbled. "Welp, I ain't staying in this cold-ass room!" Koneko leaned back and threw her shoulder to the door. A normal human would not have done any damage, but a half-Saiyan should have blown the thing off its hinges. Instead, she bounced back.   
The tiredness and frustration built up and she raised her palm. "Ok, door. You asked for it! HA!" she screamed and fired a smallish ki blast off at it. Again, the door remained, but even more disturbing, the blast didn't leave a mark.  
"Ok..." She backed off and looked around in the dark. She groped for the light switch but it was dead. At that point, fear finally overtook her.  
"Heh heh heh heh heh..." a soft chuckling seemed to emmanate from the ceiling.  
The temperature dropped another ten degrees. Koneko's brows came together. "Juunana? Gohan? This isn't funny! Let me out!"  
"Ha ha ha ha ha..."  
"Guys!? Stop it! Come on..."  
"HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!"  
The sound bounced off the walls. She couldn't tell where it was coming from. Koneko backed herself into a corner and stared out with all of her senses, but could determine nothing.   
"What's going on!?" she cried, but the laughter persisted. It was so cold in the room that her breath was now visible. Suddenly, every ghost story she had ever been told came back to her all at once. "Ghost!!!" she screamed. "Tasukete kudasai!!! Help!!"  
"AHHHH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"  
Koneko screamed and covered her head with her arms. She felt invisible hands pull her arms back. She opened her eyes, but saw nothing. The laughter was closer, echoing in her ears. She shook her head. Tears rolled down her cheeks. "Please! No! Leave me alone!" her voice was choked. What little she could see went black and Koneko went limp.  
The room was dead silent. The door slid quietly open.   
Koneko's body shook lightly.  
"Heh heh heh heh..."  
Her head came up. She grinned evilly.  
"Hahahahahahaha..." 


	8. Part 3 Chapter 2

**Fumetsu no Senshi-tachi Z : Shouyuu**

_An Alternate Mirai Dragon Ball Z Fan Fiction by Aoi-Kami Sarah_

**FNSTZ : Shouyuu - Chapter Two**

Bulma trudged sleepily into the kitchen the next morning and made tea. She hadn't slept well the night before. Her dreams were plaugued with horrific images which faded with every second that passed till all that was left was an unsettling feeling that something frightening had taken place.  
"Morning," Gohan chimed as he popped around the corner.  
Bulma shrieked and put her hand to her chest. "Don't do that!"  
"Sorry! Heh, I guess you're still on edge from last night, ne?'  
"What?" she asked, still bleary. "Oh! The stories! Yeah, I guess so. I'm also not a morning person, you know that!" she scolded.  
"You bet I do, why else do I exploit it?" Gohan hugged her and went to kiss her. She pulled back.  
"I haven't brushed my teeth yet!"   
He laughed, kissed her anyway and sat down at the table.  
She joined him with her cup of tea. "Gohan, did you sleep ok last night?"  
"Mmm, yeah, but I had some wicked nightmares..."  
"Me too!"   
Bulma wanted to ask him if he couldn't remember his dreams either when he stood up. Gohan walked to the window and looked out.  
"Wow, that's a first."   
"What's a first?" she asked and went to see what he was wondering at.  
Koneko was on the lawn in her blue spandex, working out in the brisk morning air.  
Bulma looked amazed. "This is the girl who sleeps till noon if I let her?" she asked. She cracked the slider a crack and called out to her. "Ohayo, Koneko-chan. You want some breakfast?"  
The young woman turned to face them. Her long, lavendar hair was up in a ponytail and swished over her as she did so. She smirked. "Sure."

*  
Polian used the starlight that evening to navigate his way northward. November had just arrived and in this region, and temperatures were already well below freezing.  
The lab was just as cold. The only bit of warmth which his hightened senses percieved was coming from a four-foot hyperbolic chamber in the corner of the room. The clicking of what sounded like hundreds of fingers on hundreds of keyboards echoed off the granite walls.  
"Zen'i?" he asked the darkness.  
There was no answer. A faint glow came from the corner of the chamber, and he approached this cautiously.   
Each of her fingers had split into a half a dozen, thin, utilitarian digits. The connection wires coming from her head and her haunting, unblinking stare made his heart sink.   
"Z, what happened?"  
Polian stood right next to her, but she wasn't listening. A million intricate tasks had to be processed every moment and she could not look away. He crossed to the chamber and peered into it.  
Chibi-chan was pale and unconcious; much the same as she was the last time he had seen her, five days ago. He wanted to take her out of there, take the horribly cold-looking implements of science off of her and hold her poor, little body to him until she warmed up. At the very least, he could stroke her soft, curly, black hair which was damp with sweat.   
"Zen'i?" Polian pleaded one more time, but still not getting an answer, sat down next to the Jinzoningen. One of her pale, blond locks had fallen into her face. He thought about how much she hated having her hair out of place and gently brushed it back for her.   
"It's ok, Z. I'm right by your side."

*  
Gohan returned that evening tired out from a long day of sparring with Koneko. The girl was unrelenting today and he wore a few bruises to show for it. He was, however still stronger than she was, and had proved himself the victor at the end of the day.  
Koneko looked in much rougher shape. When Bulma scolded Gohan for his brutality, Koneko growled for her to be quiet. She was fine, she said, and could take care of herself.   
After she had left for her room, Bulma confronted Gohan.

"There's something weird with her," she said and folded her arms. "First she wakes up at the crack of dawn, then the silent treatment, now this."  
"Maybe there's something in the air," he replied and shrugged.   
"Gohan, don't give me that! You've spent more time with her than I have in that Spirit and Time place. You HAVE to admit something's not right."  
"Yeah." He pursed his lips. "I may be a newbie when it comes to parenting, but I don't think we should jump down her throat. Let's see if she shakes it off, first."  
Bulma frowned, and opened her mouth to agree when they both started at the sound of a scream coming from Koneko's room.

Gohan opened the door and they both rushed in to see what the matter was.   
Koneko was on the floor, shivering with a terrified look on her face. Standing above her, with a look of total dismay was Android Number 17.   
Bulma's temper flared. She looked from the Jinzoningen to her daughter, who clutched her torn shirt to herself and sobbed.   
"What have you DONE!?" she screamed and ran to Koneko.   
Gohan simply stood in the door frame and glowered, his own temper rising much faster. The tiny, still smoldering ember of his hatred for the destroyers of his world was fanned in to a rageing fire.   
"You!" he hissed through his teeth. "You better start running."   
"But I.." Juunanago protested, the look of shock still on his face.   
"GO!" Gohan commanded.  
Stunned, Juunanago looked to Koneko and shook his head before obeying and blasting through the open window.

Bulma shushed her. "Did he hurt you?" she asked.  
Koneko stopped her sobbing and shook her head. Her hair hung in her face. "Please," she whispered. "I want to be alone."  
Gohan convinced Bulma to come with him and they left her in her room.   
She sat up straight, holding the bit of torn shirt to herself and brushed her hair out of the way. The girl went to the window and chuckled darkly.

'~Juunana...~' she repeated his name over and over and watched him flee the scene. '~Come back...~' Her mother and Gohan left the room. She watched herself laugh.  
'~This can't be happening... why am I doing this?~'  
All day she had stuggled with comprehension, and this event pushed her to try harder. She left the room and went in search of Bulma. They were in their room, discussing the matter, quietly. Their voices warbled through the ether as if from under water.  
'~Okaasan?~' she begged and reached out to touch her. Her hands, like smoke, broke around the woman. Desperately she tried to shake her, to scream at her, to pick up and throw things at her. She was useless. She wanted to cry, but such an action seemed ridiculous.   
'~What can I do? Am I a ghost? I'm not dead, I'm in my room, but I'm here...~' she wandered by the tall mirror in her mother's dressing room. There was no reflection. '~Oh Kami!~' she whispered.  
'~Kami...~'

The shack looked as if he had only left it yesterday rather than three weeks ago. As the sun set, Juunanago wandered in and closed the door. There was no need for lights with his super-human abilities, but he didn't want light anyway. The darkness of his house was enveloping. He crawled into his bed and pulled the covers up over him.   
"Why?" he asked. "Why...?"

*  
The sound of a broom distracted the young God from his meditation. He smiled. Popo-san had a way of very politely waking him in the morning by making soft, busy sounds. Dende stood up out of his throne and walked into the courtyard.  
"Ohayo, Popo-san."  
"Ohayo, Kami-sama. And how are you this morning?"  
"Genki desu, Anata wa?"  
"Very well, thank you."  
This was the routine. In a few hours, God would peer down on the world and watch the people, busy with their restorations, smiling in their newfound peace.  
This morning, God's ears twitched and he shuddered.  
"What's the matter Kami-sama?"  
Dende didn't reply. He walked further out towards the edge of the lookout and listened.  
"Do you hear that, Popo-san?"  
"Hear what?"  
His pointed ears twitched again. "There it is again! It sounds like... someone calling my name."  
"Then perhaps it is a prayer?"  
"No, no. My NAME. I hear 'Dende'!"  
"Perhaps it is something only you can percieve, Kami-sama."  
"What do you mean?" he asked and turned to his friend.  
"Well, you are God. You are omnipotent. You just need to focus and you can see and hear anything."  
He furrowed his brows and did as Popo instructed. Sure enough, the sound became steadily clearer.  
'~Dende... Please, help me, Dende.... Tasukete kudasai, Kami-sama...~'  
"Where are you?" he asked.  
'~Right here, in front of you, please... Dende...~' the faint voice sobbed.  
He squinted. A human form resolved itself and became recognizable.  
"Nani? Koneko?! What happened to you?!"  
'~I don't know! You've got to help me, please!~' she cried, relieved that someone finally heard her. Her voice was as thin and whispy as her appearance.  
"I'll try."

*  
"She still won't come out!" Bulma complained. She rubbed her hands together with worry. "Why won't she talk to me, Gohan?"  
He rubbed her shoulders. "Maybe she just needs time. This has probably brought back a lot of pain for her."  
"Just like it has for you?" she asked and faced him.  
He furrowed his brows. "If I see that bastard Jinzoningen again, I swear I'll rip his head clean off his fucking shoulders," he hissed the anger rising simply thinking about what had happened.  
"Gohan..."  
"I'm serious, Bulma." He frowned.   
"So much agression," Koneko purred from behind them. "It's really quite refreshing."  
"Koneko-chan!" Bulma took a step towards her, but Gohan gently pushed her back, sensing something deeply amiss.   
"You want to let some of it out, Gohan? Let's go." She was wearing her full battle armour and a devious smirk.   
Bulma shuddered. "God, Koneko. You sound like your father. What's wrong with you?"  
Koneko's eyes widend. "My father?" she asked. "Really? Why thank you for the compliment. So are we on, Gohan?"  
He nodded solomnly and followed her outside.  
"Gohan! Koneko, wait!" Bulma yelled at them as they took to the sky.   
He called back to her. "I'll get to the bottom of this."  
They took off through the crisp, autumn air for the south.

*  
'~So I'm not dead?~' Koneko whispered.  
"No. I can see you." Dende looked over the edge. "Looks like you're getting ready to spar with Gohan."  
'~But that's not me!~'  
God stepped back and rubbed his chin. "Well then, something has replaced you."  
Popo blinked at his friend. "Kami-sama, are you feeling all right this morning?" He was unable to see Koneko's apparition.  
"Hai, Popo-san, It's Koneko. She's in a bit of a pinch at the moment. If you would kindly excuse us?"  
Popo scratched his turban, but agreed and went back inside the palace.  
Koneko hovered beside God, waiting for him to explain himself.  
"I can't trace it, but I can tell that it is a restless spirit."  
'~A ghost!?~'  
"I believe so. And it has chosen you to posess."  
Koneko wished she too could see what was going on miles from where they were. '~How do I fight it if I can't even touch anything?~' she growled, frustrated.  
"I think I can teach you how to do what it has done to you. It's a technique used reversly by shaman in many cultures. They let themselves fall into a trance and ALLOW the spirit to possess them. In this case, you will be FORCING an unwilling soul OUT."  
Dende pulled his hands out of his oversized sleeves and rubbed them together. "Let's see, where should I begin?" He walked a few paces back and forth, thinking before speaking.  
"Everyone's soul is attached to their body by what's commonly called the Silver Thread. This line is anchored in the heart of a person untill they die and the soul is allowed to float away to its respective afterlife. Only when this anchor: the living body, is dead can a spirit move on. Hence why you're still on this plane. If you were dead, you'd be standing on line at Lord Enma's by now.   
"Since you are still alive, you are here. I have no way of knowing for sure if the spirit which has your body now is 'living' or 'dead'. Either way, it's going to be difficult to force something that already knows how to possess people out of your body. If you should fail, it will only dig deeper and you may never get back.  
"So to that end, I recommend you possess someone else and combat this thing on your terms. You know your moves and your strengths. You will probably be able to defeat it and reclaim your unconscious body."  
'~Nani!? You want me to fight MYSELF!?~'  
Dende shruged. "Do you have a better idea?"  
She pouted. '~Can I at least practice before I go down?~' she asked. Her misty face batted its eyelashes at him.  
"What, on me?" he chuckled. "That would look really bad, Koneko. I'm not supposed to ever lose control."  
She pouted again.  
"But.... There IS another option..." He grinned. "Popo-san? Can you come here a second?"

*  
Gohan scowled at the girl across from him. She wore a cock-sure grin and held her fists at her hips. The chill wind blew her long hair.   
"Well, what are you waiting for?" she barked. "Afraid I may win?"  
"No." Gohan stood where he was. "I have no such fear."  
The grin fell. She squinted.   
"What are you up to, Koneko? Is this some kind of latent agression?"  
"Heh," she snorted. "You could say that."  
"I know how you feel."  
She squinted again. "What?"  
"After last night, I've been itching to get this anger off of my chest, but I don't want to kill Juunanago. Not before I talk to his sister..." He trailed off. She was starting to laugh. "Nan.. nani?"  
"HAHAHAHA! Gohan, you simpleton! Go ahead! Destroy him! See if I care! But first," she balled her fists. "Try me!!" Koneko charged him.  
Gohan stood dumbly and took a left hook to the face. He flew backwards several hundred feet before recovering.   
"Koneko! Stop this!" he growled. But she was upon him again and raining blows down on him. Gohan kicked her with both feet and jumped up into the air after her. He blocked her attacks and tried to get a hold of her, but she evaded his grasp.   
"Knock it off, Koneko! Why are you behaving like this!?"  
"Let's just say it's in my nature!" she shouted and came at him again.   
Frustrated, Gohan reeled back and punched her down into the earth. In a moment, she was back up, just as determined as ever.   
"Damn it, Koneko, STOP! I don't want to hurt you!"   
"Too bad I can't say the same for you!!"  
Gohan was shocked. He took several more hits before resuming his defence.

*  
Mr. Popo's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell to his knees, then flat on his face.  
"Ooch," Dende hissed. "Maybe I should have told him to lie down first."  
"Ow..." he moaned and pushed himself up on his hands. "Good thing he doesn't have a nose!"  
"Koneko!?" Dende asked.  
"Yup!" Popo stood and cheered. He put his little black fists on his hips and grinned wide. "This is sooooo weird..."  
"Are you stable? Does it feel like your going to fly out at any moment?"  
Popo thought for a second. "Nope."  
"Excellent! You don't have a moment to lose!"  
"Right," he nodded. "And I know just the fighter to possess. Thanks Dende!" Popo waved and fell down on his butt.  
"Ow..."   
"Popo-san?"  
"Kami-sama? Why does my nose hurt?" he rubbed the spot between his mouth and eyes. A smallish sweat drop appeared above his friend's head.

*  
Juunanago sat on a stump in front of his shack and wiped his brow. As long as he kept working, he didn't think. If he didn't think, he didn't hurt.   
His sister had still not contacted him. He had no idea if his little neice was alive or dead. And he had no intention of going to that horrible place to find out.   
Every dream he had ever had seemed dashed. Any chance for integration, redemption or forgiveness had been ruined.   
'Why?' he thought. 'Why did she do that? What was that evil look in her eye?' Juunanago clutched his chest and sucked in a staggered breath.   
"Why, Koneko?"  
Suddenly, he felt a hand on his cheek. The single tear which had formed and run down it was brushed away. He blinked and looked to the sky.   
'~Juunanago,~' a voice whispered.   
He slumped his shoulders. His eyes closed. He gave in.  
  
*  
Gohan panted, but refused to go to Super Saiyan. Koneko had long since pushed herself that far and was getting bored with his defensive strategy.   
"You pathetic excuse for a warrior!" she bellowed. "Why don't you try to stop me for real!?"  
"Koneko, you're obviously not yourself. I won't fight you like this!"  
"You're damn right, I'm not myself." She hovered in midair. Her aura glowed around her. "You know, it's no wonder you were the only one who survived."  
Gohan wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. "Nani?"  
"You're a coward. You probably ran away like the little weakling you are when the shit hit the fan."  
"What are you talking about?"  
"May Twelth," she spat.   
Gohan's face screwed itself into the foulest look it had ever held. "I was just a child. A building colapsed on me. They left me for dead, but I survived to fight another day."  
"FACE IT!" she screamed. "You were weak! My father died that day, and you weren't brave enough to fall like the others!"  
Gohan growled and his power level popped to Super Saiyan at last. "All right young lady," he fumed. "That's about enough out of you!"  
"Yes! That's it! Bring it on!!" she cheered and the fight truly began.

Koneko powered up and fired blast after blast at him. By the minute, Gohan began to lose himself to his anger. He charged and prepaired to fire off a massive Masenko at the girl. A blast from nowhere stopped both of them in their tracks.   
"Gohan, stop!" Juunanago shouted and sped towards the scene.  
Gohan growled and turned his attention to the Jinzoningen.  
"YOU!? I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO RUN!!!"   
Juunana's eyes bulged, but he raised his arms in time to protect himself from the Masenko. Gohan followed this up with a barrage of punches and kicks, which Juunanago blocked.  
"Gohan, wait! Listen to me!!" he shouted.   
Koneko hovered where Gohan had left her and laughed out loud. "That's the spirit! But don't finish the job, Gohan! That pleasure is ALL MINE!!!"  
Juunanago was pushed further and further away from the girl as Gohan barreled down on him. "Gohan," he hissed between blows. "You've got to listen..."  
"The only thing I have to do is rid the world of you, once and for all!"  
"Koneko is not who you think she is and neither am I!" He let his hands fall submissivly at his sides and Gohan reached out and grabbed his throat. "Gohan, it's me, Koneko! I'm in here!" he hissed.  
"Shut up!" he shook him once, but didn't attack furthur. He raised his hand, ready to blast the Jinzoningen into oblivion if he had to.  
"I'm serious! Look, how else would I know about the joke-telling sessions we had in the Room of Spirit and Time?!"  
Gohan's eyes widened. He let go, but held his hand out, ready to attack.  
"Remember the 'Pinky-pink' joke, or 'The Beautiful Music' joke? Those epics that took up so much of the down time we had before we went to sleep?"  
He looked skeptical.  
"You remember how I told you to take care of my Okaasan no matter what happened afterthe Cell game cause I thought I didn't have what it took to fight him? I was so scared, Gohan, and you convinced me that I could do anything..." Juunana's lip tembled.   
Gohan put down his hand.  
"Gohan-san, my body's been possesed. Dended taught me how to do it too so I grabbed the first availble fighter. If we can knock my body unconcous, I might be able to get back in."  
"As ridiculous as that sounds..." Gohan took a deep breath. "I believe you. No one else could have known what you just said."  
Juunana/Koneko sighed. "Ok. Don't tell it what I told you. Dende said if it catches on, it'll be harder to get it out."  
He nodded. The men turned to the demon and scowled.

"Huh?" Koneko puzzled. "What's this? Have you pussed out of this, too?"  
"No, Koneko." Gohan dropped out of Super. "We've both decided that you're sick. We're going to take care of you."  
"Come on, Koneko-chan. I know you just need a nap. Let's go home," Juunanago pleaded.  
"You've got to be JOKING!" she screamed and flew at them both.   
Together, the men were able to evade her, but neither had the desire she had to do harm. She focused her attacks on Gohan, and the older, half-Saiyan started to take damage.   
"Koneko, stop!" Juunanago tried to pry her off of him, but just got a blast to the chest for his trouble. He flew back into a nearby cliff and burried himself a half a mile in.   
  
When he finally emerged and came back to the scene, he gasped in horror. Gohan lay unconscious on the ground. Koneko's body stood over him and laughed.   
"Now I'll have a more appropriate body! Much as it debases me to enter a low-class peice of trash such as yourself, I guess I'll just have to deal with it." She sneered and closed her eyes. "At last, I'll have it all back."  
"NO!" Juunanago shouted and fired off a power attack.   
The blast was huge. He could tell, a moment after he fired it, that it was too big.   
  
Koneko turned and faced the oncoming attack. A look of total surprise came over her. The attack hit her dead on and exploded so brightly, even the Jinzoningen had to sheild his eyes.  
The impact pushed Koneko for a mile or so before her body caught up on the ground and turned over and over like a leaf in the wind.   
Juunanago sped after her. She lay, twisted on the ground, barely breathing.   
"Kuso!" Juunana hissed as he picked up the thin body, gently. "What have I done to myself?"  
Koneko's eyes fluttered open. "My.. myself?" she stuttered.  
He nodded. "Who are you? Why did you take over my body? What do you have against me and the people I love?!"  
"Love..." she whispered. "Shimatta..." Her eyes locked on the Jinzoningen's. "I'm sorry... Bra-chan," she breathed. "I never meant to..."   
Juunanago gasped as the body went completly limp. "Ie... 'Bra-chan'...?"  
  
Gohan ran to them. He stopped a few feet away and stared at them both. "Oh my God, Koneko."  
"I didn't know he could pack such a wallop..." Juunanago whispered.   
"But..." Gohan tried to comprehend the situation. "You're techincally still alive..."  
He shook his head. "Dende said if the body dies, the soul is free. Once I relinquish this body, I'll be gone."  
Gohan cursed under his breath.  
"Well, you know," Juunana lay the body down and looked up at Gohan. "I was getting sorta jealous, you guys having all been dead before and stuff..." he tried to laugh.   
Gohan looked devastated. "If I hadn't jumped the gun. If I..."  
"Stop it!" he shouted. "Gohan, this isn't about you. It was HIS fault." He motioned to the corpse.  
"His?"  
"He called me Bra-chan. There's only one person without a body of their own (who I've been told was pretty much pure evil when he wanted to be) who could have done this: my father, Vegeta."  
Gohan furrowed his brows. "Masaka... Are you sure? If he helped you guys out a few years ago from the great beyond, why would he want to come back and ruin everything?"  
"I don't know. That's why I want to get to the bottom of this. Please wait to wish me back for as long as you can." Juunanago stood up.  
"Why?"  
"I'm going to find him and ask him myself." He lowered his head. "Gohan-san," he whispered. "I'm scared. What's it like... to die?"  
"I don't remember."  
Juunanago looked to him. "I know this'll be weird, but..." His eyes watered. "Could I get a hug?"  
Gohan made a face, but he could tell that inside the Jinzonigen's body was a frightened girl who needed him. Awkardly, Gohan patted him on the back as he squeezed him, hard.   
"Good luck, Koneko. You'll need it."  
"Hai. Arigato, Gohan-san." Juunanago waved sheepishly, closed his eyes and colapsed to the ground.   
Anxiously, Gohan waited. The wind blew dust around the fallen forms of the Android and the half-Saiyan. Then Juunanago stirred. He sat up, bewildered and looked to Gohan for an explanation. Before he could ask what had happened, he spotted Koneko's body. He registered no life forece from her form and crawled over to her.  
"Koneko-chan?" he whispered and pulled her into his lap. "KONEKO-CHAN?!"  
"She's dead, Juunanago," Gohan droned.  
"Did I...?" he looked up at him. His broken heart was splashed across his face.  
"No! No... It's a long story. No, you didn't."  
He held her close to him and bowed his head. "How soon can we wish her back?"  
"Not for a year. Come on," Gohan walked over to him. "Let's take her home. I have to break the news to Bulma."  
He waited untill Juunanago had collected himself. The Android picked up his lover's body and took to the air. Gohan flew close by him.  
"I want to appologise," he said, looking straight head. "For yesterday."  
Juunanago nodded and they both flew back to Capsule.

*  
"So that's it, huh?" Koneko asked as she watched the men fly away with her corpse.  
"Yup, pretty much."  
She turned and looked at the woman. She was about as tall as she was but her skin was as white as paper and her eyes were as black as pitch.   
"What happens now?"  
"You come with me to Lord Enma's Check-in Station."  
"Oh," she shrugged. "Does everyone go there?" she wonderd.  
"Depends."  
If she hadn't been so worried about the journey ahead, she would have pressed Death further. Koneko's mind wandered.  
"Hey, what's going on with Chibi-chan? Is she going to live?"  
It was Death's turn to shrug.   
"Figured."  
They ascended through the clouds and a long line came into view.   
"Here we are. Good luck, Koneko-chan."  
"Thanks," she turned to say good-bye, but she was already gone.

Enma Daio shuffled papers from one pile to another, stamping each with the efficiancy of the king of bureaucrats. He muttered to himself as each new arrival was directed to its appropriate afterlife. "Heaven, Hell, Hell, Hell, Heaven... Heaven..."  
"Ano, Enma-sama? Sumimasen!"  
"Oro?" The large, behorned bureaucrat stopped his stamping and looked down at the spirit trying to get his attention. Out of a line of little, white, puffy souls, Koneko stuck out, having maintained her humanoid form. "What's this?"  
"Uh, Hi! I'm Koneko and.."  
"I know very well who you are, Bra "Koneko" Breifs." He pulled out a giant set of reading glasses and examined a peice of paper the size of a house through them, He then looked over the top of them at her. "What is it? I'm a busy man."  
"I know, Lord Enma, I'll make it quick. I'd like to go to Hell, please."  
There was a soft, collective gasp from the souls behind her.   
"I believe my otousan is there and I need to speak with him," she clarified.  
"Hmmm," Enma shufled papers. "Yes, Vegeta. He was just sent back there again. Maximum security for him this time, I see. Ninth circle. Nasty, little bastard that one..."  
"Sent BACK?" Koneko made a face. "My Okaasan said he was in Heaven."  
More shuffling. "Yes, he was. But he broke the rules and was sent downstairs."  
"What rule did he break?" she asked sort of testily. He glared at her. "Uh, which rule, Enma-sama?"  
"He..." *shuffle schuffle* "..comunicated with the living."  
"Nani!? But he's a hero! He gave his life for Earth and when he spoke to us, it was only 'cause he wanted to help my okaasan and me find each other!"  
"Mmm, I see. Not REALLY and evil action. Hm. Too bad."  
"TOO BAD!?" Her father's temper rose in her. "He DESERVES to be in HEAVEN!"  
"Yes, well, so do YOU. NEXT!"  
"No!" Koneko stamped and fumed. "This isn't fair!"  
"Death's not fair, deal with it. NEXT!!"  
"WAIT!" a light went on in Koneko's head. "I have to go to Hell!" she yelled triumphantly. "I killed myself!"  
"What?" Enma dropped the 'Heaven' stamper and it crashed to the floor like a tank. "But you're one of the purest people on Earth! It says here that Juunanago killed you and that you only did it to stop Vegeta!"  
"Ah! But my soul was in Juunana at the time, so I killed my own body. It's the same thing."  
"That's a techincallity!" Enma barked.  
"So was my otousan's indescretion! Unless you want to contradict yourself, I suggest you send me to Hell, pronto!"  
Enma grumbled and his assistants looked very worried. "Come here," he wispered to her. Koneko flew up to the surface of the desk and listened carefully. "This is making me look bad. And if word gets out about what I've done to Vegeta, It could be VERY bad, so..."  
"So, let him out!"  
"Shhh! It's not that easy! I don't have dominion over Heaven or Hell. I'm just traffic." He waved an enourmous stamper at her. "If you can reach Vegeta and escape Hell together, I tell ya what, I'll let you both into heaven."  
"Awright! Now you're talkin'!" Koneko clapped her hands together.  
"SHHHHHHH! Sheesh. Ok. Here's what you do..."  
Enma them imparted to her the nessesary secrets of Hell which she would need to have a chance to escape it.  
"You'll have to start with the ninth cirlce of Hell, find Vegeta and make your way to the first. Now, I'm not saying that there's a garuntee or anything. If you don't make it back here, the deal can't happen."  
"Gotcha. Don't you worry, Enma-sama. I'll get him back." Koneko grinned and bowed deeply. The 'Hell' stamper came down on her form and she was ushered to the entrance to Hell.

*  
Juunanago stood in the corner of the room and stared at his feet. Gohan held Bulma by the arms. Her smile fell. She glared at the Jinzoningen. Gohan shook his head and tried to explain. The distraught mother loosed her venom on Juunanago, cursing him with everything she had. Gohan had to shake her a bit to get her to listen to him. She slid down cooperativly onto a kitchen stool and heard the story.   
When it was done, Bulma got up and walked over to Juunanago, who had remained to hear the story as well. He tried to back away, but she reached out and took his hands. She appologized and invited him to stay with them for as long as he liked, then returned to Gohan and fell into his arms, sobbing.

*  
A soft, pleasant pinging was the first sound Zen'i had heard in days. An LCD display slowly flashed the words 'task complete'. She reached over to turn it off and was a little startled at the state of her hands. Effortlessly, she rejoined the split digits and rubbed her fingers. They were ice cold. Finally, she pressed the 'ok' button and the pining stopped.   
Zen'i sighed and looked from the human child to the Jinzoningen child. She stood, and for the first time since she could remember, she felt completely exhausted. Her body was fine, of course; it was her metal state of being that had been taxed. She stroked the child's pale cheek and whispered to her.   
"You're awake," Polian murmured from behind.   
"Yes."  
He joined her and looked down on their delicate charge.  
"Is she alright?"  
"I don't know." Zen'i glanced over at the lab table. Death was still there, leaning back and swinging her thin legs over the edge. "Not yet."  
A large, red button glowed ominously between the chamber which kept Chibi-chan alive and the cold slab on which the todler Jinzoningen body rested; waiting.   
"If I fail, Polian. She dies. I can't plug her back in."  
"I know, but she's dying anyway, Zen'i. This is all we can do." He put his hand on her shoulder. She nodded and pressed the button.

Machines which Zen'i had spent the last week putting together went into action. Polian could only wonder at exactly what they were doing. Zen'i's eyes darted as she watched the various checkpoints light up or switch off accordingly. The contraption hummed as it worked. A status bar counted up; fifty percent, seventy two, eighty eight...  
One hundred percent. A soft ping signaled the end of the procedure and a harsher tone signalled the cessation of Chibi-chan's human body's life functions. Zen'i held her breath. The red buttom was now green. She reached out with an unsteady hand and pressed it. What looked like a small, black and white television monitor displayed the perfect rhythem of the Jinzoningen's heartbeat.  
Polian sighed. Zen'i looked to the lab table. The pale young woman was gone. 'Oh no,' she thought. 'Is that a good sign or a bad one!?'  
She busied herself disconnecting the connection cables from the little adroid and tripple checking all of its functions. Then she took its tiny hand.  
"Chibi-chan?" she asked "Wake up, honey..."  
The Jinzoningen's eyes snapped open. She looked up at the ceiling, then over at the speaker.  
Zen'i's heart went into her throat. "Do you know," she swallowed hard, "who you are?"  
"Jinzoningen Chibi-Puroutotaipu Juugogo desu," she said in an eerily perfect child's voice.  
Zen'i slumped her shoulders and stared into her huge, ice-blue eyes. There wasn't a hint of recogniton in them. "Oh no..." she moaned and could not hold herself back. Zen'i began to cry.  
Polian bit down into his lip and fought back his own tears. He turned off the still ringing flatline which came from Chibi-chan's lifesign monitor. He closed his eyes.   
Zen'i put her head down on her folded arms and sobbed heavily. The little android sat up next to her and swung her legs over the side of the table. She raised her hand to her mouth.  
"Why are you crying?" she asked in her spooky, high voice.  
"My daughter is dead," she whispered.  
"That's so sad..." she answered. Her voice was muffled a little. This, and the statement itself piqued Zen'i's interest. She lifted her head and looked up at the girl.  
Chibi Protoype 15 had her fingers in her mouth. The sad, distant look in her eyes drew Zen'i to her. Startelingly, her eyes were now no longer blue, but grey.   
Zen'i sat up, reached over and gently took her hand out of her mouth. "Chibi-chan," she whispered, "you shouldn't chew on your fingers..."  
Polian stopped staring at the dead body and swung his attention towards them. "Nani..?"  
"Look, Polian," she pointed. "Her eyes..." Zen'i smiled and wiped her face with the back of her hand. "Chibi-chan. Do you know who we are?"  
She shook her head.   
"But..." Polian started. Zen'i held up her hand.  
"Do you have a mother, Sweetie?"  
Again, she shook her head.  
Zen'i smiled. "Yes you do."  
The little protoype blinked, then smiled wide as well. She lunged at Zen'i and hugged her tightly. Zen'i picked her up. Polian crossed to them, carefull to keep his body between the little corpse behind him and new Jinzoningen's line of sight.  
"I'll take care of the clean up," he muttered to his friend.  
"Polian!.." she protested. It was his turn to shush her.   
He stroked Chibi-Juugogo's green hair. "Hi, Kiddo."  
"Konnichiwa. Watashi no Otousan desu ka?"  
"I suppose so," he grinned. "Take her home. I'll be there in a bit."  
"Are you sure?"  
He nodded.  
Zen'i hugged her daughter close. "Come on, Chibi-chan. Let's go home."

**On to Part THREE**


	9. Part 3 Chapter 3

**Fumetsu no Senshi-tachi Z : Shouyuu**

_An Alternate Mirai Dragon Ball Z Fan Fiction by Aoi-Kami Sarah_

**NOTE: **I have borrowed heavily from Dante's The Divine Comedy (Inferno) for a large section of this story. If you have never read it, don't worry, you won't be lost. (If you have, I am REALLY impressed, cause I read the cliffs notes! ^^) I have taken all of the circles from this book and tweaked them to fit my story's needs. There are other references and nodds in here, but I'll let them surprise you. Also, a 'shade' is another name for a spirit in hell. - aks

**FNSTZ: Shouyuu - Chapter THREE**

A behorned demon wearing tiger-striped pants, a white button down shirt, a blue tie and glasses walked Koneko to the large, impressive door. At her feet, the doormat read: 'abandon all hope ye who enter here.'  
"Cute," Koneko swallowed deep.  
"Here you are." He clicked his tonge. "I don't know WHY you want to go HERE when you could have gone to Heaven..." he pried.  
Koneko held her hands innocently behind her back. "Well, I heard all the 'happening' people are downstairs."  
"Whatever." He frowned. "Here you go." The demon opened the door. A swirling abyss yawned past the threshold.  
Koneko leaned forward. "Doesn't look like it has a floor."  
"Oh it does," he said as he pushed her in. "It's just a LOOOOONG way down."

She screamed as she fell for about six seconds before remebering that she was already dead. The room (if it was a room) was completely dark. Her hair streamed behind her as she plunged down, deeper into Hell.  
After about a minute had gone by, the passage began to lighten and Koneko relaxed. 'Must be getting closer,' she thought. 'But to WHAT?'  
She looked down and tried to make out any discernable shapes. Soon, a large, darker, roundish shape began to appear. It grew closer and closer and just when she thought it couldn't possibly be any bigger, she saw its horns... all six of them.   
"AH!!!!! What is that!?" she screamed and failed in the air. Koneko braced herself for impact.

Koneko landed in the middle of the central head of an enourmous, red, three-headed beast. She tentatively got to her feet. It didn't seem to notice her arrival. Twenty paces took her from the middle of the bald, dark, red scalp to the ridge of its left eyebrow. She lay down and looked over the edge.  
Horrified, Koneko saw that this monster had a shade in each of its mouths and was gnawing on them as if they were chew toys. All three demonic heads muttered the word 'traitor' over and over again.  
"I don't wanna know." She shuddered, got up and walked back to the middle of the head. Not wanting to remain in this predicament another second, she clenched her fists and leapt into the air.   
Koneko instantly regretted not having tested her powers first. She fell off the monster's head, but landed on its shoulder.   
"Whew!" she sighed and climbed down its side by holding onto its thick fur.   
When she finally reached the ground, she leapt off, promplty lost her footing and fell on her butt.   
"Ow! Kuso tare!" she grumbled. "Huh? Ice?"  
All around her, the ground was smooth, flat ice. The cold permeated her. Koneko tried to get to her feet, but she had never been a skater. She flailed as she tried to stand. After a few minutes, Koneko had the basics figured out. The hard bottoms of her boots helped immensly.   
"Who woulda thought? Ice in Hell!" she mused as she moved away from the monster who was so large that he could not see her from that distance. "Now, to find Otousan..."  
Her optimism sagged as she tripped and fell over something. It was a human hand. She skittled back on her butt away from it and took in the bigger picture. All around her, imbedded in the ice were millions of people, many fully burried and obscured by the thick layers.  
"Oh no! Otousan, how'm I supposed to find you now?!" She got to her feet again. Sadly, Koneko skated around the prodtruding hands and heads.   
"Otousan? Otousan!? Hello?"  
"Would you be quiet!?" shouted a woman as she skated by.   
"I have to find my father!" Koneko stopped and answered.   
"Who cares!?" called out another head.  
"I do!" she shouted back. "He's been wronged! I have to save him!"  
"What if he doesn't want saving?!" barked another.  
She got mad. Koneko spun and confronted the offending head. "I never knew my father. He was killed when I was just a baby and he just did something really weird and I want to find out why! I don't give a crap if he wants to be saved or not, I WANT TO save him so that's what I'm gonna do!"  
"Hmph," the head snorted. "You don't even know what he looks like, do you?"  
"No. I don't..."  
"Well then, how do you expect to find him?"  
Koneko was getting more and more pissed off. "I'll find him if I have to dig all you snivelling bastards up and interrogate you all individually!!"   
To her surprise, the shade who had been mocking her now began to laugh.  
"That's the spirit! Hahahaha!"  
She furrowed her brows and crouched down in front of him. "What are you so happy about?"  
"You may be worthy of calling yourself a Saiyan, yet, Girl."  
"O.. Otousan!?"  
Vegeta scowled. "No, I'm your fairy god mother," he sneered.  
"Well you don't have to be so nasty! It's your fault I'm here in the first place!"  
"MY FAULT!?" he yelled. "You're the one who bumped yourself off, Missy."  
"Look! Do you want out, or NOT!?" she yelled back. "I've only got a year to get you back to Enma-daio's so he can send you back to Heaven..."  
Vegeta's brows raised a little.  
"...So you better make up your mind, toot sweet!"  
"Hmph," he scoffed. "You'll never make it."  
"Wha..?"  
"It took me two and a half years to get out of here the first time. I'm affraid you've lost, Girl."  
Koneko boiled over. "Listen here, Tousan! No one tells me what I can and can't do! I'll show you, I'll get you out and back with a month to spare, just watch me!!" With that she balled her fist. Vegeta's eyes widedend. Koneko brought her hand down on the ice just in front of his nose. To his surprise, even without her powers, she was still incredibly strong. The ice cracked. She pounded it repeatedly, and soon, she was able to pull Vegeta out of it by his shoulders.

He stood and stretched his cramped muscles.   
"Well?" Koneko beamed and waited for a note of thanks.  
"Well what?" he growled and looked her in the eye. He was only two or three inches taller than she was. Now she knew where she got her lack of height from.  
"Um, 'thanks for saving me Koneko-chan?'"  
"Hmph," the Prince scoffed and brushed ice-dust off of his black, spandex Saiyan armor. "You DO know there are NINE cirlces of Hell, don't you? Save your griping for when we're out of here."  
He walked past her, away from the tripple-headed demon.  
"Come on," he called. She stood, dumbstruck at his attitude. "Before Baezelbubba here realizes that I'm free." He indicated to the beast.   
Koneko made a face and skated after her father who strode confidently across the slick surface of Lake Kokisasu.

At the edge of the lake the mouths of many rivers flowed down off of a short cliff and under the ice. Vegeta began to climb the icy rocks.  
"Since you know the way out of here," Koneko called as she followed him. "It should be easier the second time around, right?"  
"Finding my way out wasn't the hard part," he growled.   
Koneko kept asking him questions, but he said no more. She gave up just as they reached the top of the cliff. As she stood, Koneko took in the vast expanse of the 8th circle.   
"Kami-sama..." she whispered.  
Vegeta scoffed and jumped down the equally rough interior cliff wall. He landed and began running towards the distant border of the seventh circle.

Koneko could hardly believe that this man was her father. She shook her head in dismay, jumped down and ran after him.   
'I have to talk to the guy, but he's not very friendly, just like Okaasan said,' she thought as she caught up to him. They dodged their way around the shades of men and women, writhing in their particular tortures. Some were consumed by flames, others' bodies were being mutilated. There was an entire section of the damned who were planted upside down in the ground and their exposed feet were on fire. They flailed them wildly, but the flames never ceased.  
"Ewww," Koneko complained as they ran along. "What did these poor people do?"  
"They were frauds," her father answered. "Theives and swindelers."   
"Whoa... Then what did the people in the ice do?" she asked, forgetting for a moment that he had been one of those damned.   
"Treason."  
Koneko fell silent. Due to the somber, almost threatening tone in her father's voice, she decided that it would be a better idea to keep her mouth shut for a bit.

After running in silence for a while, they came to a wide, bubbling, molases-like, black river. The disticnt smell of feces rose from its surface, and a million shades fought against the current; damned to swim in the stuff for all eterity. Vegeta ran along its banks and grew impatient.  
"Otousan..?"  
"Where's the damned bridge!?" he shouted.  
She looked up and down the river, but could see no trace of one. Her hopes sank. "You mean, we gotta," she swallowed hard, "SWIM!?"  
"We will do no such thing!" he bellowed, still looking for some way to cross.   
A huge, horned shadow loomed over them both. "What seems to be the trouble here?" a slow, deep, demon's voice boomed.  
They both turned slowly and looked up at the enormous, black demon who bent to get a better look at them. Koneko stutted in horror.  
"Where'd the blasted bridge go?" Vegeta barked.  
Koneko looked at him funny and decided that she was the more diplomatic of the two.  
She smiled and wrung her hands. "What my father so rudely put, sir, is that we would like to know where there might be a bridge on which we might..."  
"That old thing?" the demon ignored her and talked right over her head to Vegeta. "Fell into the River O' Shit months ago. You were here before, weren't you?"  
"Yes," Vegeta hissed. "So how the hell do we get across now?!"  
"Well, I don't think I should let you through," he said and made a face. "Since last time you tricked me..."  
Koneko bit her nails and tried to remember the secrets Emna had told her. 'There was something about a big, dumb, black demon... now what was it...!?'  
"And I don't like to be made a baka of..." He paused and thought for a second. The wheels in his head turned a single notch. "But I tell you what. You guess my name, and I'll get you across."  
"Got it!" Koneko shouted. "Your name's Marakoda!"  
The demon fell over. "How did you guess it first try!?"  
She shrugged and did her best to look cute. "Must be psychic!"  
  
Marakoda picked Vegeta and Koneko up in his gargantuan hand and dropped them unceremoniously on the other side of the river of poo. He then turned his back and grumbled like a sore loser as he walked away.   
"How did you know that thing's name?" Vegeta asked.  
"Let's just say I got friends in high places," she grinned and started running again.

They wove in and out of more terrors; pits of snakes in which shades were repeatedly bitten and vats of boiling oil into which demons dunked the damned like donuts. Just past a section of shades being severly beaten was the edge of the seventh circle. It was a simple line on the ground. Vegeta stopped at this and took a long, deep breath before crossing it.  
"What's the matter, Otousan?" Koneko asked as she casually crossed the line.

A wave of the worst, most pungent stench she had ever smelled asaulted her nostrils. Koneko gasped for air and ran back over the edge of the line again. She watched her father running away.  
"Hey, wait!" she called, took a deep breath and sprinted after him. The sandy ground was incredibly hot. As they got further in, what Koneko had thought was a mirage was proved to be real. Flames licked up from the dunes. The desert was on fire.  
The flames didn't do any actual damage, but they felt like they did. After a few minutes, even Vegeta couldn't hold his breath in any more and he sputtered and gasped. Koneko joined him. The pair sped through the sand as fast as they could, choking on the stale air.   
When she thought she could run no more, the flaming sand gave way to dirt and moss. They were entering a forest.   
  
Winded, but growing accustomed to the foul stench, they walked for a bit through the trees.  
"Man, I have never wanted to fly so badly before!" she commented.   
Vegeta was silent and walked a few paces ahead of her.   
"Well at least we're making great time! If there's only nine circles and we're in number seven already then we'll be outta here in a couple of days!"  
"Baka," he spun and glared at her. "Time seems to move faster when you're dead. It's probably been a month already!"  
"Nani?!"  
Vegeta snorted. "So I suggest we get moving." He turned and began to run again.  
Koneko stood where she was and hung her head. 'He's such jerk!' she thought to herself. 'What on Chikyuu was Okaasan thinking!?'   
The distance between father and daughter was growing, so Koneko decided to sprint to catch up. She pulled a muscle as she jerked her left leg. It was held fast to the ground.  
Horrorstruck, she looked down. Vines were growing out of the ground and entwining themselves around her left leg and rapidly starting to do the same to her right. She cursed and tried to pull free, but the vines reached up and began tangling her arms.  
"Otousan!" she called out. "Little help?" Vegeta kept running.  
The vines thickened and wrapped around her waist.  
"OtouSAN!!" she pleaded. He was so far away by now that he was nearly a spec to her vision. 'Oh my God, he's not coming...' she thought and began to panic. 'No, I KNOW he cares! He called me Bra-chan!'  
"OTOUSAN! Tasukete kudasai!!!" her words were muffled as the scratchy, bark-covered vines encircled her head, blocking her sight.

Her father's angry face was the next thing she was aware of. Koneko sputtered for air and coughed loudly.   
"Onna no ko no baka," he grumbled and picked her up.   
"O... Otousan.. you saved me..."  
"I had to. You forgot; you're a suicide."  
"Not REALLY!" she complained.  
"This is the Forest of the Suicides. You can't touch the ground here or you'll become one of them." He nodded to the forest as he pulled vines from her legs. She noticed for the first time that the trees looked decidedly anthropomorphic, complete with dour faces and limbs that resembled arms and legs.  
"Well thanks for the warning, Tousan," she grumbled.   
Vegeta scowled and in a quick motion, picked her up and slung her over his back.   
"Hey!" she shouted.   
"Oh shut up and enjoy the free ride while it lasts!" he barked and ran with her like that to the edge of the tree-line.

Vegeta easily put the 100 pound Koneko down on solid ground. Just ahead of them, they could make out creatures moving along a long, red, river.   
"Arigato, Otousan," she said and smiled.  
He looked to the hoizon, snorted and began running again.  
This time, Koneko uttered a frustrated growl as she chased after him.

The river, as it turned out, was red because the water as in fact the blood of the damned who struggled to swim in its lazy current. They were weighted down by the heavy armour they all wore. Vegeta kept his distance.  
"No bridge again?" she asked.  
He shook his head. "We have to convince one of those beasts to give us a ride." Vegeta pointed down the riverbank.  
Koneko blinked repeatedly. The thing he was pointing to came closer.   
The top half of the beast was that of your standard tiger-striped oni, but the bottom half was equine. His black mane flowed as he trotted over to the pair of escapees. Koneko balled her fists and studied the evil look on the centaur's face. He came to a stop only a foot from Vegeta, folded his arms and looked down on the Prince.   
"Back again, Vegeta?" he asked in a thick, British accent. "What have you done this time, you naughty boy?"  
Koneko's eyes bulged at the familiarity the creature took with her father. She didn't have a chance to whisper her astonishment to him. Vegeta reached in back of her and pushed her forward.  
"Do your thing, Girl," he hissed.  
"What?!" she cried. "Oh!" Koneko wrung her hands. "Mr. Centaur..?"  
"The name's Nesesu, Sweetie, and who might you be?" he asked and put his hands on his horsey hips.  
"Uh... I'm Koneko Briefs."  
"Oh my, sounds like a drag name!" he said to himself, but out loud. "Well, what can I do for you, Deary?"  
She blinked. 'Hm,' she thought. 'Time to turn on the charm!' "We'd like to like to ask Your Fabulous Self if you could give us a ride across the river?"  
"Oh!" he grinned. "Well you put it that way! Sure thing. Honey. But what's a nice girl like you doing hanging around such a hunky sourpus?"  
She swallowed deep. Vegeta was crimson, trying as hard as he could to keep calm.   
"He's my father."  
"Oh!" Nesesu blushed. "Well that's all right then, I suppose. Mum's still living then?"  
She nodded.  
Vegeta expolded. "Look, you flaming pufta, quit with the chit-chat and get swimming!!"  
Koneko made face, but before she could appologize for him, Nesesu giggled.  
"Ooh! I love it when he gets all riled up!" He clapped his hands together. "Hop on Dearies, I'll get you across!" He knelt down and they got on.  
  
They crossed the thick, bloody river. Vegeta shirked the waves as they licked up against the giant, swimming centaur.   
"Stop it! You're doing that on purpose!" he shouted.  
"Oh I am not! If you want me to dunk your mean, little derier in there I can, you know!?"  
"Shhhh! Tousan!" Koneko scolded.  
"It's alright, Sweetie. He's just got his panties in a bunch cause he's a warmonger."  
"So I've heard," she muttered. "But what's that got to do with anything?" she asked.  
"The river is full of them. It's the damnation of the war-like. Once your in, you never get out."   
Koneko watched the armored shades, strugling to keep their heads above the hot, thick blood. She then saw the troubled look on her father's face and she had to look away.

*  
Over the border line of the sixth circle, father and daughter took a deep breath of clean air and started running into its heart: the high-walled city of Dis.   
They came to its outer wall and stopped. Vegeta looked confused.   
"Shimata," he cursed. "There was a rope here before..."  
Koneko looked up at the city. The walls were slick stone and absolutly vertical.   
"So what now?" she asked.   
A voice with a funny accent from high above their heads answered. "Allo zere!"  
"Hello!" she called up. "Can you throw us a rope?"  
The helmeted figure who answered dissappeared briefly. "I don't zink so, you zee, we have no rope and you do not have perrrrrrrmision!" he rolled the 'r'. "So piss off."  
"What!?" Vegeta bellowed. "I, Vegeta, Prince of the Saiyans order you to..."  
"You do not scare us, so-called Vegeta Prince! I fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hampster and your father smelled of elderberries!"   
Koneko held her father back as he attempted to climb the walls.  
"Come on, Otousan. We're not going to accomplish anything that way."  
"Then what do you suggest we do?!" he barked.   
She sat down on the ground with her back to the wall. The taunts of the city guards faded away.   
"..tiny-brained wipers of other people's bottoms!..."  
Koneko searched her brain again for Enma-daio's advice. "Aha!" she cried and rocked to her knees.   
Vegeta folded his arms and watched her with mild interest. She put her hands together.  
"What are you doing now?"  
"Praying. Now shoosh," she replied and squeezed her eyes shut.   
A few moments passed before Koneko sat back down again. "It's probably going to be a while. I had to place a long distance call." Vegeta stood where he was. "Sit down, you're makin' me nervous." She patted the ground next to her.  
The Prince seated himself a few feet away. Koneko shrugged and leaned back.   
  
"What, exactly, are we waiting for?" Vegeta demanded.  
"A Heavenly Messenger," she answered. "Someone to get us in to the city." She wonderd, if when and if she ever had a little boy, if he would end up with the same male pattern baldness.  
"Stop that," he grumbled.  
"Stop what?" she asked, innocently.  
"Staring at me!"  
"Sumimasen," she sighed and looked at her hands folded in her lap. "I want to remember what you look like. We don't have any pictures of you."

She bit her lip. "Otousan, can I ask you something?"  
There was no answer. Koneko took a deep breath.  
"Why did you want to hurt us?"  
Vegeta grimaced. "Hurt you? I was trying to HELP you! You were doing disgusting things with a Jinzoningen!"  
Koneko blushed furiously. "He's not the same anymore..." she whispered. 'He should have a new name,' she thought, but there were more important things to think about at the moment. "That's a heck of a way to try to help me, Tousan. Now we're both dead."  
Vegeta scoffed and turned away from her.   
"Gomen nasai, Otousan. I think I DO know why you did this." She started to wring her hands again. "Enma-sama said you were put here after you helped Okaasan and me. That woulda pissed me off too. It took you two and a half years to get out of here and by the time you did, judging by your temper, you were REALLY pissed.   
"Since you couln't be in Heaven, you tried to get your life back. You really wanted Gohan's body, but you couldn't get him till you defeated him..." she stopped sudenly as the memory of the killing blow she delivered to her own body sprang up in her mind. "Shimata. If I had known it was you..."  
Vegeta sighed quietly and closed his eyes. He was about to turn back to her and say something when a bright light distracted them both.  
"What the..?!" he cried and jumped to his feet.  
Koneko sheilder her eyes. "Sugoi...."

Descending from above amidsts a celestial cloud was a ball of light with imense, white wings. As it got closer, Koneko could see that the angel was dressed in a white gi and was barefoot. He descended to just a few feet above the ground.  
"Nanio?!" the Tenshi shouted. "Vegeta!?"  
The Prince squinted as the light died down to a soft glow. "What!? You!?!"  
Koneko blinked. "Otousan, you know a Tenshi?"  
The Tenshi did a double take at Koneko. "O...Otousan? You mean, you're Bra?"  
"That's me," she bowed. "Who are you?"  
"The cue-ball is one of Kakarotto's little friends," Vegeta sneered. "What was your name again?"  
"Ha ha." The Tenshi folded his arms. "The name's Kuririn. Wow. Time sure flies, ne Vegeta?"  
"Are you going to let us into Dis, or are you going to hover there and blather all day?" he barked.  
"If it weren't for Bra asking so nicely for me to come and bail you guys out, I'd turn around right now and leave you in the lurch, you jerk!"  
Vegeta growled and lunged at Kuririn. The Tenshi flew out of his way and laughed at him.  
"Otousan! Behave yourself, please! Only six more circles and we're outta here!"  
Vegeta sulked and Kurinin stuck his tonge out at him as he approached the wall. He knocked on it three times and a door appeared. The ten-foot thick wall easily swung open.   
"Tada!" Kuririn cheered and floated in ahead of them. "I have to lead you through and let you out. Then you're on your own again."  
"Doumo arigatou gozaimasu, Kuririn no Tenshi-sama!"  
"Nani!?" Kuririn turned and flew backwards. "Are you SURE this is you and Bulma's daughter, Vegeta!?"  
Koneko laughed and followed him in to the city of Dis.

They walked through the city after the brightly glowing Kuririn no Tenshi. The darkened streets were filled with coffins, in which shades burned eternatlly for their heresy. Vegeta hung back, just out of earshot and scowled at the Tenshi.  
"Kuririn-sama," Koneko whispered. "You knew my father. What did you think of him?"  
He snorted a little. "Well, I assume you know he was a bad guy." She nodded. "Well, he's a hardass alright, and I never really trusted him, but I tell ya what, that last day when we all went down... he was right there beside us. We all fought as hard as we could. At one point, he even got my back. I thanked him, but he just kept on fighting. I think he was the last person standing."  
"Thanks," she folded her arms and pondered this statement. "He hasn't been very open with me so far, but between what you, Okaasan and Gohan-san have told me, I think I have a better idea of what he's really like."  
"Eh, I wouldn't expect much." The Tenshi made a face. "Hey, I heard Gohan was wished back, the lucky stiff! How's he doin'?"

They conversed like that until they reached the far wall.  
"Welp, here we are. Good luck, you two. You're almost home free." Kuririn knocked on the wall and it gaped open for them.  
"Doumo arigatou gozaimasu!" Koneko piped. Vegeta met Kuririn's eyes before exiting the city.  
"No prob kid. Anytime. Tell everyone hi for me if you think of it!"  
"I'll try!" She waved to him as he pumped his wings and flew up and out of sight.   
"Don't just stand there lollygagging!" Vegeta growled. "There's five more circles!"  
"Hai Otousan!" she answered and ran after him.

*  
They ran across the border and slowed to a crawl. The fifth circle was a vast swampland. Wallowing in the mire were souls who muttered to themselves and sulked. Their wrath persisted even in death.

Koneko shook mud from her boots as they crossed into the fourth circle. Her uniform was dingy and torn in sereral places as was her father's.  
"Bleh!" She stuck out her tounge. "I'm filthy!" She wrinkled up her nose. "Woof! And boy do I smell!"  
"Suck it up," Vegeta complained. "It gets worse."

A large hill faced them. All along it, in various stages of ascent, were shades who pushed tremendous boulders up its steadily sloping surface.   
The shades climbed as fast at they could, until the slope became so steep that they had to cling to it hand and foot.   
"Hey!" a soul to their left called. "If you guys give me a hand, I'll give you a thousand copper peices!"  
"Copper?" Koneko asked as she struggled. "Is that even worth anything?"  
"No," Vegeta answered. "These fools are the Greedy."  
Koneko made a comprehensive sound and scurried after him.

At the top, they stood and looked back down on the circle they had just crossed. Every one of the damned who reached the top lost control of his boulder and was forced to chase it back down to the bottom and start all over again.  
"Man, sucks to be them," she commented. Vegeta chuckled darkly. Koneko smiled, but made sure that he didn't see her do it. They turned and crossed the border of the third circle.   
  
"Awwww.. not more gack!" Koneko cried as she saw the ocean of mud that lay before them. Asleep in the middle of this, covered in a thick layer of brown mud, was a monsterously huge, three-headed dog.   
Father and daughter waded around the bodies of the gluttonous damned who were condemned to wallow like pigs forever. Koneko side stepped here and hopped there to avoid the many shades which cluttered their way.

As they neared the great hound, Koneko's foot was caught by one of the souls. She lost her balance, fell against something and looked up.  
"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr," the beast snarled as he woke.   
"Ahhhh.. nice doggy!" she tried to quiet it, but it rose to its feet.   
Vegeta cursed and looked around him wildly.  
Koneko fell down into the mud on her butt and skootched away from the demon-dog. All three of its heads drooled on her as they loomed ever closer.   
"Here, Serebasu!" Vegeta bellowed. He held a fat, wrigling shade above his head. The dog swung his enormous bulk towards him and glared at the Prince. When he saw the gesture, he sat down and wagged his tail expectantly. "Catch!" Vegeta hefted the thing as far as he could back towards the border they had come from. Serebasu yelped happily and lumbered off after the soul who cired out in shock as he flew through the air.  
Koneko blinked rapidly and began to laugh.  
"Come on!" Vegeta shouted and dragged her out of the mud. He ran with her arm in his hand as fast as he could go.  
"Tousan!" she cried and tried to wrench free. As she did so, she turned and saw the reason for her father's urgency. Serebasu had caught his unholy stick and was charging back for another go.  
"AAAHHH!" she screamed and bolted ahead of Vegeta. Just as the dog was about to come crashing down on them, they slid across the border on the slippery mud. Serebasu wasn't so lucky. The border to him was like an invisible fence. He slammed up against it and fell into a pile, whimpering.  
Vegeta stood and busted out laughing at the sight. Koneko recovered and joined him. Serebasu barked uselessly from the other side.   
"Hahaha, stupid mutt!" Vegeta guffawed. "I can't believe you fell for that twice! Dogs are so stupid!"   
"That was AWESOME Otousan!" she cheered. A strong breeze picked her hair up and swirled it around her body. Annoyed, Koneko quicly braided it and tied it up on her head. "What now?" she asked and turned to see the tourture of the second circle.

A few hundred yards away was a tornado in which souls were being tossed around like a deck of cards. Vegeta furrowed his brows. "Stay close. It's strongest at the center."   
They walked towards the funnel cloud and the wind gusted at speeds of a hundred miles an hour.   
Each step Koneko took was harder to put down. Soon she was struggling to keep to the ground. She wanted to ask her father for help, but didn't want to make him think she was weak. Koneko growled and pushed onwards.  
At about 200 miles per hour, she took a step and was launched into the air. Koneko cried out in shock and before she could call to him, Vegeta had her arm. He reeled her back down and she clung to him. "Come on! A little further!" he shouted through the rushing wind. She nodded and they walked in synch, their arms around each other for safety.   
As the wind died down and they approached the edge of the first circle, Vegeta stopped. "You can let go now, Girl."  
"Oh!" she blushed. "Sorry, Otousan."  
Vegeta crossed the line ahead of her. "Thanks," she whispered and smiled.

*  
The air in the first circle was clear and almost fragrant. Instead of tortured shades, the realm was filled with small, white, puffy souls who seemed content to be where they were.  
"Did we take a wrong turn or something?" Koneko asked.  
"No. This is the last circle. Limbo."  
"Ah!" she smiled. "Now, I gotta remember what Lord Enma told me..."  
Vegeta had already started running away.  
"Otousan! wait! There's a really easy... *sniff sniff*" Koneko stopped dead in her tracks. "What is that?!" She spun around, trying to locate the wonderful smell. "Smells like..." At last she saw a lone tree not but a hundred yards away. "Peaches...!" she drooled and ran towards it.  
Vegeta noticed that he was alone and turned to look for his daughter. "Shimatta, where'd that girl...?" He saw her just as she started jumping up at the tree to get at the fruit.  
"Ie!!!" he hollered. "Onna no ko no baka!" He sprinted over and tackled her. "You stupid girl! We have to get out of here! You're just going to make it more difficult!"  
"But, Otousan," she pouted and gave him puppy-dog eyes. "I'm hungry..."  
"You're dead! You don't need to eat! Come on!"  
Vegeta pulled her up to her feet, turned and slammed into the chest of a rather sizable oni.   
"What do you think you're doing hanging around Enmadaio's favorite fruit trees!?" the big, blue demon yelled. He was as thick as he was tall and had one stout horn in the center of his head which resembled a party hat. He wore shorts, sneekers and a mucsle shirt on which the word 'HELL' was printed in large, block letters.   
Vegeta rolled his eyes and cursed heavily under his breath.   
"Otousan, what do we do now?" Koneko whispered as she hid behind him.  
"What's up Gaz?" a voice from behind them asked. Koneko turned to see another large, red demon with two horns and glasses. He looked confident until recognition dawned on his face. "Vuh vuh vuh.. VEGETA!?"  
Gaz blinked and did the same take. "Ah! Vegeta!? What are you doing back here!?" he and his friend shuddered together.   
"None of your damned business. Now get out of our way."  
"Really?" they asked, relieved. "You don't want to try to defeat us again?"  
The Prince scoffed. "That would be an enormous waste of five seconds." He turned to Koneko. "Have you rememberd anything useful yet?"  
Koneko pursed her lips. "Something about .. what was the name?.. Mez?"  
The red demon yelped and cowered behind his blue friend. "What about Mez?"  
"Yes," Vegeta sneered at him. "What about Mez?"  
"Enma-sama said that Mez would tell us how to get back to the check-in station."  
Vegeta smiled evilly. "Well Mez? You heard the girl."  
Mez slumped his shoulders. "Ok ok, just don't beat me up again! I haven't completely recovered from the last time yet!"  
Vegeta chuckled lightly, amused at the demon's fear. "Well, come on then! Show us!"  
"Wari Wari!" he whined and lead them past the tree.   
Just ahead, the cliffs were divided, and in the crevase was a green, evil-looking archway.   
"Right up there," he pointed.  
"You had better be telling the truth, baka. Or I come back and pound your head out your ass, got it?!"  
"Huh huh Hai! Vegeta-sama!"  
"Hmph. That's more like it." Vegeta looked down at Koneko and motioned with a nod for her to go ahead of him.   
"Here goes nothin'!" she cried and began to run up the stairs.

They ran for ten minutes before they began to see light. Koneko grinned wide and put on an extra burst of speed. She didn't need to look back. Her father was keeping an even pace with her.   
At the top of the stairs was a smallish, wooden room. Light poured out of a crack at top of one of the walls. Vegeta didn't wait. He lunged at the wall. The crack increased. Koneko joined him.   
Finally, the room slid down and clattered to the floor.

"Koneko! Vegeta! You made it!" Enma's voice boomed.  
Koneko blinked and realized that they hadn't been in a room at all, but in the top, rightmost drawer of Enmadaio's desk.   
"Yosh!" she cheered and leapt to her feet. "Otousan we did it!! Yay!!" Koneko grabbed Vegeta's hands and jumped up and down. He looked genuinely astounded.   
"I'm impressed!" Enma puzzled. "How did you make it here so fast!?"  
"Fast?" Koneko stopped jumping. "Whaddayamean fast?"  
"You've only been gone a month! That's got to be a record!"  
Koneko's eyes glazd over. "A MONTH!?!"   
  
:::"...I've only got a year to get you back to Enma-daio's so he can send you back to Heaven..."  
::: "...Hmph, you'll never make it...."  
:::"...Baka! Time seems to move faster when your dead. It's probably been a month already!..."

Koneko bit her lip. All this time, he had lied to her. Her father knew very well that they had made excellent time. But still he had pushed her on as fast as they could go. She sighed. But why...?  
"So," she frowned. "I suppose this is .. goodbye..."  
Vegeta looked at her funny. "What do you mean? You said yourself they weren't wishing you back for a year."  
'Nani...?' she thought. 'He remembered that!?'  
"Well, you guys can't just hang around here." Enma shuffled his papers. He pulled out two forms and weilded the Heaven stamper. It thudded down leaving the character 'Tengoku' on both sheets. "There. Now get out of my office! Vegeta! I never want to see you again! Koneko, I will see you in due time. Good day."  
She thanked the beauraucrat and they were both escorted out of the room.

Through a door, resting daintilly on a cloud, was a an airplane. Koneko blinked at the sight. Fluffy souls lined up to get on board. An oni handed them both tickets and wished them well. Koneko felt like a little girl, she was so excited. She turned to her father but before she could discuss their journey, she noticed that he was clean.  
"Otousan!" she chimed and pointed at him. Then she inspected herself. Her uniform was spotless and intact. "Alright!" Koneko took a deep whiff and smiled, glad that she didn't stink anymore either. "Hm, kinda wish I could get into a tee-shirt and jeans, though."  
"You're going to need that armour," Vegeta commented. "If you think Heaven is a picnic, your sorely mistaken."  
"What!?" she cried.   
"You and I are going to show that Kakarott just what royal blood is made of!" he smirked.  
"Ka ka.. oh!" she clasped her hands together. "Goku is still in heaven? That's awesome! I can't wait to meet him!"  
Vegeta rolled his eyes and followed her into the aircraft which would take them to Heaven.

*  
"Moma, where's Aunt Koneko now?" Chibi-chan looked up to her mother and asked. Her little arms were wrapped tightly around Zen'i as she carried her through the air.  
Zen'i looked to Polian who flew along beside them.   
"Well, she uh..." He hated it when Zen'i put him on the spot like that, but he had to admit, she was lousy at hiding the ugliness of life from their young charge. "She's in another dimension."  
Zen'i rolled her eyes, but this explanation seemed to satisfy the six year old.  
"If you miss her so much, why did she go away?"  
Zen'i struggled to think of a way to get her daughter off the subject, but as they were flying, there were no toys with which to distract her. "She had to find her Otousan."  
"Why?"  
"Cause HE was in another dimension," Polian added.  
"Why?"  
"Cause..." Zen'i panicked. Polian shrugged. "Oh look!" she cheered. "We're here!"

They touched down outside the complex. It was partly cloudy but still fairly a warm, early fall day. Gohan and Bulma were already waiting for them.  
"Where's my brother?" she asked as she handed Chibi-chan to Bulma.   
"I dunno. He knows we're doing this now..." she wondered too. The Dragon Balls waited expectantly on the ground.   
"He wouldn't miss this for anything," she added and looked up to the sky.  
"Ok!" Bulma shouted. "He'll show up! Let's do this already!!"

:::"Arigato Gozaimasu!!" Koneko cried. "Ja ne, Goku-san! Ja ne, Otousan! Kimi wo aishiteru!":::  
:::"Ja ne!":::  
:::"Ja ne, Koneko-chan... Watashi no Onna no ko... My Girl...":::

The words echoed in her head. "Otousan..." she muttered and opened her eyes. The word 'father' bouced off the tight walls and she snapped to attention. "What the...?"  
Koneko tried to sit up but hit her head on the ceiling. "Ow! Kuso-tare!" She tried to move around, but was confined by a plastic bag and walls on all sides. Koneko shivered. "Whu.. where the hell am I?" She tore the bag open and felt around in the absolute darkness. "Holy crap, they didn't bury me, did they!?!" she panicked and pushed at the walls. When she gave a good shove at the wall against her head, the whole enclosure moved a little in the opposite direction. She shoved again and she and the box tumbled to the ground.   
The lights were blinding for a moment. Koneko stood and squinted in the direction of a pair voices. Two men in labcoats were staring at her. She gaped at her surroundings.   
"Way to go, guys," she sighed. "I'm still in the morgue, Okaasan!"   
The men continued to stare and stutter.   
"Woof. It's cold..." Koneko rubbed her arms and realized at last that she was completely naked. "Eh hehehehe..." she grinned. "Could I borrow one of your coats?" she asked as she covered herself with her hands.

"Well!?" Bulma yelled. "Where IS she!?!"  
Zen'i sighed. "Bulma-san. Did you remember to get the body...?"  
Her eyes almost popped out of her head. "Oh Kami.. I FORGOT!"   
Polian tried unsucessfully to conceal his mirth and cackled through the hand he had raised to his mouth.   
"What is your second wish?" Shenlong bellowed.  
"Shenlong! Please bring my Koneko here!"  
"Negai ga kangaerareru!" Shenlong closed his eyes.  
In the center of the circle of Dragon Balls, Koneko appeared wearing the labcoat and looking rather puzzled. The balls wizzed up around her, reabsorbed the dragon and zoomed off to the four corners of the earth.  
"KONEKO-CHAN!!!" Bulma cried and tackled her.   
  
In turn Gohan, Zen'i and Polian gave her huge hugs. Bulma wiped tears from her eyes and urged by Gohan, ducked secretly back into the house.  
"Who's this!?" Koneko smiled at the little girl. "I thought Chibi-chan had black hair?"  
"Long story," Zen'i whispered. "We're so glad you're back!"  
"Where's Juunana?" she asked and looked around to see if he was hiding.  
Zen'i shrugged.  
Koneko frowned, but before she could comment, Gohan cleared his throat. "A lot of things have changed, Koneko-chan."  
"Juunanago?" she asked, praying silently that he hadn't retreated from life again.   
"Nah, he's ok. Just late I guess. What I'm trying to tell you is... your mother and I..."  
"We got married!" Bulma re-emerged, grinned and readjusted the bundle she had brought out with her.  
"Honto ni?!" Koneko beamed.  
"Yup!" she held out the now wriggling bundle of blankets. "Koneko, meet your new little sister, Pan-chan!"  
"Atarashii imoto!?" she asked as she took the baby from her. The little girl was maybe two weeks old. Her eyes were brown like her father's and her soft, new hair was aqua like her mother's. "Awww KAWAII!!!"   
Pan-chan blinked and gurgled at her older sister.

Bulma took her back and sobered a little. "How was he?"   
"He?"  
"Your father..?" she prompted her.   
Koneko's smile fell. "Wasu..." She slowly dropped her her knees and covered her face with her hands in dismay. "Wasuremasen..."   
Gohan put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Koneko-chan. I didn't expect you would remember."  
Suddenly she lifted her arm and droned as if she were asleep. Her eyes were unfocused. "Gohan-san, please pinch me," she said as if reciting the words.  
"What?" he asked, and looked to his friends for help.  
Polian scrutinized Koneko's trance. "I suggest you do it, Gohan."  
He shrugged and pinched her.   
Koneko stood and a smile spread slowly across her face. "Doumo arigatou gozaimasu!" she shouted and hugged him. "Wasurenai!" She held his arms. "I remember everything! Okaasan! Minna-san! I went to Hell! and Otousan and I went through all nine circles in just one month, and your friend Kuririn is an Angel! (he says Hi by the way) then we went to Heaven, oh and Goku-san says hi too! Oh my God, Okaasan! My father is so weird, but I love him!"  
Everyone blinked at her as she laughed hysterically with joy.  
"Su.. sugoi!" Gohan finally took in everything she said. "My father said hi? What about the others, did you meet them?"  
"No, everyone else has already been re-assigned." Koneko's eyes sparkled. "Ooooh and guess what!?" She poked him playfully. "Your Otousan gave me that pinch-memory thing for a reason! I had eleven months to train with him and my father..."  
"Yeah?..." Gohan asked expectanty.  
"Hehehehe,"she giggled. Her grin nearly wrapped around her head. "He taught me something... Something he didn't have time to teach you..." she sing-songed.  
"...Yeah!?" he asked again. Her delight was beginning to rub of on him. Polian leaned in and listened as well.  
Koneko refrained from telling him about the mystery tecnique she learned from the legendary Son Goku and her eyes went wide. "I'll tell ya later," she whispered and walked past him.  
Gohan and Polian fell on their faces.

"Hi..." Koneko smiled as Juunanago touched down and jogged over to her. Something looked different about her lover. "You cut your hair!"   
They walked slowly towards each other.  
"Yeah. D'ya like it?" He shoved his hands in his pants pockets and started acting like a teenager.  
"Looks good," she muttered and wrung her hands.  
"OH FOR KAMI'S SAKE!" Zen'i yelled and pushed her brother. He collided with Koneko who laughed and wrapped her arms around him.   
Zen'i folded her arms and furrowed her brows. "I've been listening to you piss and moan about how much you missed her for a YEAR! Quit being a wuss already and kiss her!!"  
"I missed you too," Koneko smiled and looked up into his ice-blue eyes. They kissed gently.  
"KONEKO-CHAN!" Bulma cried.  
"Okaasaaaaaan," she whined. "I'm 21!"  
"Heh, I'm 17," Juunanago joked under his breath.  
Koneko beamed. "Not anymore. I have a present for you."  
"Nan desu ka?"  
"Anata no namae... I think your name should be Tamashii."  
"Tamashii," he repeated and smiled.  
"You like it?"  
"I love it." He kissed her again.  
Zen'i hugged Chibi-chan and whispered something about love to explain what they were doing to the inquisitive girl.

Gohan took Pan-chan from his red-faced wife. "Bulma, she's all grown up now," Gohan scolded and smiled. "Besides, you can start all over again!" He held his daughter against his shoulder and she fell asleep.   
"I guess your right!" she sighed and wrapped her arms around him. "Doesn't mean I'm gonna stop calling her Koneko-chan though!"

As the couples and their children went into the house to get Koneko some clothes and a huge welcome-home meal, a group of beings in another galaxy were gathering to pass judgement.

"So it is decided," a dark, cloaked figure's voice boomed.  
"The sentance stands. Eliminate all which the Destroyer loves."  
Three other cloaked figures before them bowed. "It shall be done," their leader agreed. The three turned and left the room.  
"Vengeance shall be served. This galaxy shall at last have retribution!"

**END Part THREE**

100200 -111700 


	10. Part 4 Chapter 1

**Fumetsu no Senshi-tachi Z : Batsu**

_An Alternate Mirai Dragon Ball Z Fan Fiction by Aoi Kami Sarah_

**FNSTZ : Batsu - Chapter One**

**WARNING: **This story contains adult themes, nudity, strong language, love, romance, humor, cute kids, heroic deeds and violence. Reader discretion is advised.  
**NOTES:** When you see this ...   
****************  
...be forewarned that what's after it is different. That's all I can say. Enjoy.

**PART 4 CHAPTER 1**

One bright, spring afternoon, Chibi-chan laced her little arms through her back pack and hefted 30 some-odd pounds of books onto her back. She flowed with the crowd out of the massive front doors of the Orange Star Academy and hopped down the stairs. Just before she reached the last few steps, she saw him.

Jeison was 17 and tall with dark, blue hair and sharp, black eyes. He stood with his thumbs laced through his belt loops and chatted idly with some girls. Chibi-chan's heart skipped a beat, and her feet skipped a step.  
She tumbled down the remaining three steps and landed on her face. Some of the passing students gasped, but most laughed.  
"Haha! The squirt bailed, haha!"  
Chibi's face turned bright red and she fought the desire to fly up and beat the living hell out of anyone who was laughing. Then she noticed a pair of feet standing just in front of her nose. The person squatted down and extended a hand.  
"Don't let those jerks get to ya, Chibs." Jeison smiled and helped her to her feet. She blushed more and dusted her clothes off.  
"Why should I?" she grumbled. "They were just pointing out the obvious."  
"Chibs..."  
She re-adjusted her pack and continued walking. "Thanks. Bye."  
Jeison scratched his head. "Hey! Wanna study for that Trig exam tonight?"  
"Uh... sure..."  
"Your place or mine?"   
Chibi-chan swallowed deep. 'Here we go again,' she thought. She had been avoiding taking him home to meet her intimidating, green-skinned father and beautiful, teen-aged mother for years now.   
"Um... yours or the library."  
"Mine it is. Ja ne!" he reached down and tousled her hair before jogging off.  
The 16-year-old toddler sighed and walked home.

*  
May 30th was a cause for celebration at the Capsule household; it was the day Gohan and Bulma were married; it was the day the people had chosen as "Peace Day" and it was two of the family members' birthdays.  
Streamers and balloons littered the big yard. Wooden picnic tables covered with bright cloth were strewn with cake and goodies. Presents were piled up high on one of these. Children ran around the yard chasing a man in a purple dinosaur costume.

Bulma laughed at the sight as she put a jello mold on a table. Her daughter joined her.   
"I hope they catch him!" she frowned. "I hate that stupid thing!"  
"Pan-chan! You shouldn't say that!"  
"Why not! He IS stupid!" She folded her arms and turned her back on the scene.   
"Aw... you're only saying that cause you're not the center of attention!" Bulma smirked.  
Her sister, Koneko brought yet another present to the already enormous pile. "You know, you shouldn't say such things about your father..." Koneko pursed her lips to suppress a huge grin.  
"Koneko-chan!" Bulma scolded and slapped her arm.   
She just laughed.  
"O... Otousan!?" Pan yelled. "How embarrassing!" The pre-teen ran into the house.  
"Aww..." Koneko laughed.  
"And you!" Bulma frowned and put her hands on her hips. "You're only doing that because you don't have a girl!"  
Koneko made a face. "I have a big enough pain in the butt, thank you every much." She turned her head and looked to the pile of children who had all jumped on the purple dinosaur.  


"Come on! I love YOU, you love ME!?!" the man in the costume cried as they beat at him with their little fists.  
Bulma and Koneko couldn't help him for laughing so hard.  
  
  
Tamashii came to Gohan's rescue and plucked kids off of him one by one.  
"You alive in there, Gohan-san?" the Jinzoningen asked, trying hard to hide his amusement.  
"I think so..." came the warbled response. "Get me outta this thing."  
"Heh, your tune sure has changed since this morning."  
"I thought they loved Barney!" he moaned as the men walked into the house.

Chibi-chan coldly watched the children run around from her seat on the grass. Her pink, but not overly-ruffly party dress covered her folded legs. Occasionally, a little girl would come up and ask her to play. Chibi would put on a cute voice and say she wasn't feeling well. She really wanted to scream obscenities. She was 16, but still appeared to be about five; trapped forever inside her eternal Jinzoningen body.   
Her father wandered away from the chaotic party and sat down next to her. He pulled her into his lap. She didn't resist.   
"What's on your mind?" Polian asked.  
"Nothing."  
Polian hugged her. Had it been anyone else, she would have smacked them and run for it. Her father was an exception. She rested her head on his chest and sighed.  
"The boys are eleven years old today," she whispered.  
"Yes they are."  
"And I'm still five."  
She nestled in and said no more.  
Polian's fang gnawed at his lower lip.  


"Trunks! Goten! Come on! The cake's coming!" Koneko shouted above the noise. The boys stopped their game of tag and charged the table.   
Trunks was a little shorter and a minute younger than his uncle, Goten. His short, fine, black hair set off his sparkling, blue eyes which were filled with delight as he saw the huge birthday cake.  
Goten's hair was stiff and lavender in color. His eyes were more animal-like and brown. He too squealed with joy at the enormity of the cake.   
"Sugoi!" they both cheered in unison. Everyone sang 'Happy Birthday'. Before the song ended, Koneko bowed down and reminded her son and brother that they shouldn't blow too hard.  
Thankfully, the cake was intact and all 22 candles, 11 for each boy, were out.

*  


Just a few light-years away from the party on the blue-green planet, a ship landed on a barren and ruined world. Three individuals traversed its surface and took readings. The tallest of them frowned.  
"He is not here."  
"Indeed. This world was ravaged nearly one half century ago," his shorter cohort replied. All three men's faces were obscured by large hoods.  
"We are closer." The third man looked up at a twinkling planet in the cloudless sky. "Soon our mission will be complete."  
  
*  


Trunks rubbed his belly and yawned loudly as the party came to an end. He walked around the side of the dome-house looking for his uncle, but found his aunt instead.  
"Oi, Obachan," he chimed. Immediately he noticed that Pan-chan was not in a good mood. This didn't phase him. He flopped down next to her on the grass. "Daijoubuka?"  
"Go away."  
"What's your deal? We didn't do anything to you.. today..." He grinned.  
"Baka, you kids are just so annoying!"  
"Kids!?" Trunks shouted and stood up. "You're only 12!"  
"SO!? I'm a girl and girls age faster! Mama said so."  
"Whatever. You're still a kid to me." Trunks pouted. "So come on."  
She looked a little dazed when he grabbed her arm and pulled her up.   
"Gohan Ojisan has a present for us."  
"For you..." she frowned.  
"No. For all of us. Come on!"  


Only the family was left in the yard and the sun was setting. Koneko saw Polian put Chibi-chan down and went to him.  
"Is Zen'i still... working?" she asked quietly.  
"Yes."  
"How does it look?"  
"About 90% done."  
Koneko nodded and watched Chibi-chan roll her eyes as Bulma called her little, pink dress 'kawaii' for the fifth time that day.

"Ok everyone! Can we have your attention!" Gohan stood up at the head of the table and announced. Trunks and his son and daughter wriggled with anticipation.   
"A few weeks ago, late one evening after you had all gone to bed," he began. "We were all sitting around and talking about the old days, when our lives were difficult, when there were no dragonballs." Gohan's smile made his son, daughter and nephew more anxious by the second. "We recalled what fun Bulma and I used to have searching for them and we remembered how old we were when we first sought them out. We think you guys have been extremely good this year, and have shown us that you too could partake of such a quest."  
There was an awkward pause. Crickets chirped as evening encroached the city. The children all looked at him with blank, confused faces.  
The scholar hung his head and clarified. "You get to go on an adventure... BY YOURSELVES!"  
"OH!!!" Pan, Goten and Trunks all shouted. "Sugoi! Doumo arigatou!" The ran up and hugged their parents. Chibi-chan remained unmoved.  
"You know, you get to go too, Sweetheart," Polian nudged his daughter.   
"I'd rather not. I have school."  
"School's almost over."  
"I don't care." She turned her back on him and approached Gohan. She bowed her head. "Thank you very much for including me, but I cannot accept this gift."  
Before he could protest, Chibi-chan took to the air and flew away from the house in the direction of her home. Just before she vanished from sight, Polian saw her swerve left and excused himself as well. She was headed north.

*  
  
A monitor scrolled lines of code and Zen'i's eyes scanned them as fast as they came up. She stopped occasionally to input or correct a line here and there. Her tireless eyes hardly blinked. To her left was a lab table covered by a while, plastic sheet. She sighed and pushed her roll-chair back. Just because she hadn't looked at it in an hour or so, she stood and pulled back the sheet.  
"My Kami..." she smiled. "Maybe I shouldn't have made it so beautiful."   
The Jinzoningen's body was tall and lithe. Its breasts were round and perfect. Its dark, green hair fell away from the emotionless face, revealing high cheekbones and small nose. Zen'i put her hand over the cables that snaked out of the port behind its right ear and moved a stray strand of hair back into place. She regarded it for a moment, then decided that it would look even better when the fire in her daughter's eyes lit up its face.

*  
  
Chibi's tears whipped into the wind as she flew as fast as she could toward her mother's lab. Today she would lay it out. The party had been her breaking point. She had watched her former playmates grow into pre-teens and looking up at them as they played today, she smoldered with angst. All she had wanted to do was leave the party, but she promised her father that she would stay.   
She could not accept Gohan's invitation, as much as it sounded like fun. That was a child's adventure, and she was no longer a child.  
Chibi-chan grimaced as she thought this and screamed out loud, "I'm not a child!!!"  
"No, you're not!" her father's voice shouted back.   
She had been so wrapped up in her anger that she had not detected him trailing her. She slowed to a stop and folded her tiny arms.  
Polian hovered behind her, his head at her level. "Chibi-chan, I know how frustrated you are..."  
"No you don't. You have no idea how I feel!" she grumbled, still with her back to him. "You're so tall and strong!"  
"I wasn't always."  
Chibi turned to him. "Yeah, but you grew up," she sniffed.  
"Yes. I did." Polian put his arms around her and gently guided her down to earth. "Let me tell you a story, Chibi-chan. A story only your mother knows."  
This piqued the girl's interest and she allowed him to seat her in his lap. Chibi laced her arms around his left forearm and listened.  
"I was a little boy when my planet was destroyed. I was also in training to be a healer, just like Kami-sama. As members of the Dragon Clan, Dende and I were both born to be healers. Just before Furiza blew up the planet, I was killed by one of his henchman."  
Chibi gasped. "Otousan... you've been dead before?"  
"Yes. Only for a short while, but it was enough to change my life. In that moment, when I saw the beam that would kill me I felt so weak. Then all of a sudden I was alive and on Earth. I forsake my heritage and vowed that I would train to be a warrior and protect innocent people; innocent like I had been.   
"There were two Namekjin whom I looked up to most who laid their lives on the line for us: Nail and Piccolo, the Earthling-Namek. The two men fused to form one being, and I decided that I would not only change my life, but my name to reflect that change."  
"What was you old name, Otousan?"  
"Cargo." Polian nearly whispered his former name. "It took many years to gain the respect of my elders. When I first announced my decision, I was put to a test in which Namek warriors sparred with me. I was beaten very badly, but I was a right jackass and refused to be healed." He reached up and tapped a black fingernail against his protruding fang. "I shouldn't have been so hot-headed, but I was young and there were many lessons yet for me to learn." Polian adjusted his daughter in his lap. "You may think you've grown up, Chibi-chan, but you're still so young."  
"But I'm not THIS young," she pouted. "Otousan, I just wish I could grow up."  
Polian nodded once. He stood, putting her down. "Well, perhaps your wish will come true. Come on, let's go see what your Kaasan is up to."  
Chibi-chan felt immediately at ease. Her father's optimism worked wonders. She tugged on his pants, looked up at the 6'5" tall Namekjin and smiled. He picked his little girl back up and they flew the next hundred miles to the northern lab in silence.

*  
  
Bulma finished folding a tablecloth and spaced out. Her eyes unfocused as she stared at the blue sky.  
"Kaasan?"  
"Mm?"  
Koneko laughed. "You look lost."  
She smiled and turned to her oldest daughter. "Listen."  
Koneko did so. "What?"  
"It's so quiet."  
"Nice, isn't it. This will be good, not only for the four of us, but for the kids too. It's just too bad that Chibi-chan didn't want to go."  
"Mmm," Bulma nodded. "Zen'i wanted this time to finish up the new model. I'll call later and see if she needs help."  
"I know you love to work, Kaasan, but remember, this is your vacation too!" Koneko took a bag of garbage from the party into the house.  
"Vacation. How odd sounding. How odd to be able to relax."

*  
  
Zen'i sensed Polian coming long before he arrived and knowing he wasn't expected, did her best to cover up her project. She sat at the monitor and continued to work. As she had feared, her daughter was with him.  
'Well, this will be the test,' she thought as they walked towards her. 'I know she's 16, but is she really mature enough to handle such a huge change? I wish I would have made 2 bodies, one a little younger than this one... oh well. Too late for that now.'  
Chibi Purototaipu Juugogou wormed her way out of her father's arms and stood, stone-faced in front of her mother. Seated, Zen'i and Chibi-chan were practically eye to eye.  
"Okaasan, onegai shimasu, If it's possible, I would very much like to grow up. Can you help me?"  
Without pouting or using childish charm, Chibi-chan passed her mother's test. Zen'i smiled. "Of course." She stood up and walked to an examination table. Zen'i motioned for Chibi-chan to come closer. "We've been trying very hard to keep this a secret." She picked her up and grinned.  
The girl's eyes went wide as she saw the shape of a body under the sheet. "What...?" she whispered. Zen'i pulled the sheet back slowly. The hair color was an exact match for Chibi's dark green. The skin was pale, and the frame was just a little taller than her mother's... and adult.  
"Kaasan..." Chibi whispered. "You made this?"  
She nodded and pulled her chair closer so the tiny teen could investigate. She reached out and touched the skin, but pulled back. "I can't touch it. That's just too weird."  
"Is it all right?" Zen'i asked, her heart creeping up into her throat. 'Oh shit, what if she hates it!?'  
She turned and looked up at her. "It's wonderful!" Chibi-chan looked back down at it, her eyes glistening. "That's gonna be me?"  
Polian folded his arms. "Yup. Your Kaasan calculated what you would look like if you aged and built this from that idea."  
"Arigatou..." She hugged her mother tightly and the adult android sighed with relief.

**  
  
"It's MY turn, Jisan!" Trunks whined to Goten.   
"Is not! You just found the last one!"  
Pan snatched the radar away from the boys. "MY turn!" she cried and flew off towards the nearest blip on the screen. They were approaching the sea shore. The sun was low in the sky and Trunks and Goten were getting hungry as well as cranky.   
"Jisan!" Trunks held his belly as he flew. "Let's go get some grub!"  
"Yosh'... but where?"  
Trunks shrugged. "Maybe there's some fruit or somethin' down there," he motioned to a forest just before a set of rolling dunes.  
"Ne-chan, we're gonna get somethin' to eat!" Goten called out to his sister.  
Pan frowned, but shrugged her consent. 'Good!' she thought. 'Get them outta my hair for five seconds!' She pressed on out over the water. The boys winged back to the mainland and disappeared into the canopy.  
  
Just as she lost sight of land, Pan thought to herself that her nephew and brother were probably gonna get themselves into trouble without her to bail them out. The radar was blipping steadily. "Oh, it's just so close!" she moaned and decided that they could suffer for a little while. She was gonna get this one on her own.  
The blue seemed to go on forever. Pan had just about made up her mind that she was going to have to get wet, when a tiny island appeared. "Ah! That must be it! Thank goodness!"  
She swooped down and stepped onto the beach gingerly. The island was barren save a solitary palm tree and a large, sea turtle sunning himself. Pan pointed the dragon radar towards the source. She walked into the center of the island past the sleeping turtle. "Crap. It must be beneath the sand," she grumbled, pocketed the radar and started digging very quickly with her hands.  
"Hey! What do you think you're doing!?" a strange voice cried. Pan fell into the already large hole.   
"Wha... who's there?!" she shouted and peeked out of the hole. She came face to face with the massive turtle.   
"Why are you digging up this island!?"  
"Why do you care? I'll put the sand back in place when I'm done!" she yelled back and got out of the pit. She sneered down on the creature and folded her arms.  
"It's my home! How'd you like it if I came and dug a big hole on your house!?"  
Pan looked down. "You're house is down there?"  
The turtle looked shocked and waved his flippers. "No no, that is... what I meant is..."  
Pan raised a brow but shrugged and jumped back into the hole. "Like I said, I'll put it back once I found what I'm lookin' for." The ground rumbled and she lost her footing. The floor of her pit was rising. "Naniyo...?!" she cried.   
When it stopped, the young girl was sitting on top of a smallish Capsule house. She looked out over the edge.   
"Emak?" she read the letters off the side. "What the heck does Emak mean?"  
"It's KAME, you idjit!" another voice yelled. Pan jumped down and looked straight into the eyes of a hunkered-over old man wearing a tortoise shell on his back. She blinked a few times. "Can't cha read?!"  
She frowned. "A course I can read! I'm 12 years old!"  
The old man looked her up and down. "Yup. You sure are."  
"Etchi!!!" she cried and pulled her eyelid down at him.  
"And disrespectful of your elders! What a brat! What are you doing here anyway! Git lost!"  
"Uh-uh!" she folded her arms. "Not till I get my ball."  
"Sorry girlie." The turtle hermit waved her off. "I don't have your ball."  
"Yes you do." Pan pulled the dragon radar out of her pocket and pointed. "See, it's in your house!"  
The old man's jaw fell open. "WHERE DID YOU GET THAT!?"  
Pan pulled it away from him defensively. "My Kaasan gave it to me! You can't have it!"  
"Nonono I don't want it!" He waved his arms and squinted behind his sunglasses. "Tell me, who's your kaasan?"  
Pan was incredibly proud of her mother and didn't hesitate to answer. "Bulma Briefs!"  
The old man was speechless. He stood very still. Pan blinked.  
"Oi... Jiichan.. daijoubuka?"  
"Just like your mother! No respect for your elders!" He barked back.   
Pan growled and clenched the radar tightly. "If you know my kaasan, let me have the dragonball! I know you have it!"  
"Just for being so rude, I'm not gonna!"  
Pan screeched as she growled louder. "Come on, Jiichan! I want that ball!" she stomped her foot. Kame Sen'nin raised a brow.   
"Oh yeah? Fight me for it." He wasn't at all surprised when she accepted the challenge.

*  
  
"Oi.... Trunks-kun... I'm stuffed." Goten groaned.   
"I sure hope those berries were ok to eat."  
Goten put his hand on his stomach. "So far so good."  
Trunks laughed, but both boys suddenly snapped to attention as they felt Pan's power-level increase.  
"Uh-oh. What's she got herself into?!" Goten cried as he and Trunks took off towards the ocean. "Kaasan will kill us if she gets in trouble!"  
  
  
Kame Sen'nin blocked the girl's attacks, but was certain that she was holding back an immense amount of power. 'Where could she possibly have gotten it from?!' he thought. 'She's way too young to be Vegeta's kid...'  
His concentration strayed as he noticed two incoming figures. 'Jinzoningen?!' he thought wildly. 'It CAN'T be!!' Pan landed a kick and he went flying into the side of his house.  
Pan stood with her hands on her hips and watched the boys touch down.  
"Pan-chan! Are you ok?!"  
"I'm FINE. HE'S not no thanks to you two. You distracted him!" she motioned to the hole in the wall with the legs sticking out of it.  
"Was he trying to hurt you?" Goten asked.  
Kame Sen'nin emerged and rubbed his head. "NO! She's an animal!"  
"HEY! Watch whacha say about my sister!!" Goten yelled balled his fists. The old man blinked and circled the boy. He was wearing an orange gi and his lavender hair stuck out in a very familiar shape. "Um... I think ya hit him too hard, Nechan..."  
The hermit stopped, looked at them both and bellowed "Who's your daddy?!"  
Goten popped him in the face and he went flying, making another hole in his house.  
Trunks rolled his eyes. "I think he meant, 'Goten, who might your father be?"  
"Oh. Gomen ne..."  


After they helped the old man out of the splintered side of the house he offered for them to come inside. On the table in the middle of the room sat the four-star dragonball.  
Pan ran immediately to it and scooped it up. "Woo hoo! four more to go!"  
The old man sat down at the table. Trunks was the first to notice the photographs.  
"Holy cow! Look! It's Bulma-san!"   
Goten and Pan jogged over and looked where he was pointing.  
"Yep," Kame Sen'nin sighed. "That was a long time ago. I haven't seen your mom in ages. I'm glad she's still around!"  
"So, Jiichan... who are you?"  
"I'm the invincible old master... Kame Sen'nin Muten Roshi.. Maybe you heard a me?"  
All three shook their heads and continued to stare at the pictures.   
"Hahaha! Lookit Kaasan's hair! Hahahaha!"  
"Is that Tousan?"  
"Can't be. Remember. He's really lots younger than Bulma-san."  
"Who are you pointing to?" Kame Sen'nin squinted. "That's Yamcha."  
Again, shrugs.  
"Oh! Maybe that's Tousan! Look, isn't that what Obaasan looked like?"  
"I think so, yeah!"  
"Eh?" The old man got up and looked closer. "That's Gohan."  
"Yeah! I knew it was him!"  
"You mean to tell me....?" he stuttered, "That GOHAN IS YOUR DADDY!?"  
Pan and Goten nodded. He fell over. "But.. then, your mom is Bulma... she's MORE than old enough to be yer gramma!"  
"She's only 37!" Pan scolded.  
"Oh." The old man stroked his beard. 'Sounds like SOMEONE got a hold of the dragonballs...' "Wait. Who's are you then?" He pointed to the other boy.  
Trunks made a face. "I'm Koneko and Tamashii's."  
Goten ruffled his short, straight, black hair. "Trunks is my nephew!"  
"I'm very confused." Kame Sen'nin sighed and looked wistfully at the picture. "But if I have it right, I trained your grandfather, Goku."  
"WOW!" The boys chimed. "Really?!"  
He smiled. "Yup. That's him right there in the middle."  
All three children were silent as they looked at the picture. Then Goten and Trunks's eyes met.  
"Will you train us!? Please!?!"  
The old man's eyes teared up. He became lost in thought. 'I knew when that dragonball landed here a few years ago that everything was all right. I knew that somewhere the Z Warriors were still out there. They were everlasting, and now, this new generation has found it's way to my door. How can I pass it up? But what can I do to make them any more powerful...?' he thought.  
"Oh PLEASE!" Pan sneered. "He's weak! What can he do to train you guys?" Too deep in thought, Kame Sen'nin ignored the remark.  
"Ah, shut up, Pan!" they chimed. "Come outside Sensei! We wanna show you something!"  
"Do they always talk at the same time?"  
Pan nodded and sighed. They followed them out onto the beach.  
Trunks grinned wide. "Ok! This is this neat thing that Goten's Ojiichan taught my Kaasan when she was dead before I was born!"  
He had to laugh a little. "Go for it, Sonny."  
The boys stood facing them and started to dance.  
"What the hell is that?" Kame Sen-nin whispered to Pan.  
"Totally gay," she hissed back.  
"FUUUUUUSION HA!"  
They shielded their eyes as the two boys became one. Gotenks grinned and flashed them a V sign. ""Whadaya think, Sensei!?""  
He blinked and marveled at the amount of energy coming off of them. Pan snorted and rolled her eyes.  
"Pan, can you do that?" the master asked.  
"Are you kidding!? I wouldn't be caught DEAD doing that faggy little dance!"  
""It's not faggy!!""  
"Is too!"  
""Is not!!""  
"Children! Please! Cut it out!" He stroked his beard and thought. 'There are three of them. But the third doesn't want to play along. If she did, they could be a great team. That's it!' "I will take on all three of you as students!"  
""YATTA!""  
"Oh no no! Not me!" Pan shouted.   
"Oh yes, you too. You forget missy, I've known your Kaasan since she was 16 years old. I think one well placed phone call describing how you punched me through the side of my own house would commit you to my tutelage for at least a year."  
"No!!!" she whined.  
"One month is all I will need. You will thank me later."  
Gotenks did a happy (but not faggy) dance on the sand and Pan-chan sulked at her apparent misfortune.

**On to Chapter TWO**


	11. Part 4 Chapter 2

**Fumetsu no Senshi-tachi Z : Batsu**

_An Alternate Mirai Dragon Ball Z Fan Fiction by Aoi Kami Sarah_

**FNSTZ : Batsu - Chapter Two**  
  
Chibi chan flew the 170 miles from the lab to school every day for the last week of classes. She and her father studied together for her exams while her mother worked diligently on the new model. Bulma would come by occasionally to help out a little, but the work was slowing down. It was almost ready.  


On the last day of exams, Chibi-chan hummed through the corridors of Orange Star Academy. Some girls giggled at her as she took a sip of water from the kiddy fountain. Chibi stared back and grinned wide. 'Pretty soon I'm gonna look a million times better than you ever will! I'll have better skin, better hair and fully developed...'  
"Oi! Chibs!" Jeison called from down the hall a bit, jerking her from her amusement. She turned crimson.  
"Ano... Jeison. What's up?"  
"How'dja do on that bio practical?" he asked as he caught up with her. They walked to their lockers.  
"Aced it."  
"Wow! You sound so sure of yourself! Must be feeling better, ne?"  
She nodded. They walked out of the school and down into the park. They bought shave-ice and sat on a bench in the afternoon sun. Steeled with her new-found confidence, Chibi-chan asked a question she had been wanting to know the answer to for a long time. "Jeison, why are you so nice to me?"  
The teen blinked down on her. "Why not?"  
"No one else is. Do you pity me or something?"  
"Why would I do that? Because you have that disease that makes you small? I've known you for 5 years now and I know that you don't want anyone's pity." He frowned. "Do you really think I'm insincere?"  
Chibi gasped lightly at the pained look on his face. "No! No no... I just.. It's just, you're the only one, the only kid who's ever treated me like just another kid. I think that's amazing and cool and I want to thank you." She stared at her melting shave-ice.  
"Chibs. That sounded so.. final. Are you ok?"  
' Think fast girlie.' "Not really... I'm not coming back to school next year."  
"Is it your health?"  
"Well, sort of. I'm gonna hafta transfer. I'm leaving right after school."  
"Chibs... Where will you go?"  
'Think fast, think fast!' "Up north." 'Whew!' "So, I wanted to say thanks... for being my only friend."   
To her utter shock, Jeison put his arm around her tiny shoulders and hugged her.  
"No sweat kiddo. I've always thought of you as my little sister. I'm gonna miss you tons."  
A large sweat drop formed over her head. "S... sou da..."  
She patted his hand and slid off of the bench. "Well, I really should be getting home. I'll see you tomorrow."  
He nodded. "Tomorrow then."  
Chibi-chan walked to the nearest alleyway then blasted off for the north.  


*  
That morning, Polian had risen with the dawn and finished a brief workout before seeing his daughter off for school. Living in the lab was weird, but they were having fun. It was almost like being in a summer home save the lack of amenities like a bathroom and kitchen (not that two Jinzoningen and a Namek needed either).  
He was stretching and soaking in some sun late in the morning when Zen'i finally emerged. Her long, blond hair was up in a loose bun held together with a mechanical pencil. She hadn't changed clothes in days.  
"You look exhausted."  
"I am." She wrinkled her nose. "And I stink. Isn't there some running water around here somewhere?"  
"Follow me," he said and they flew down the cliff-face and walked to a nearby river. The water temperature was about 50 degrees but it didn't phase the Jinzoningen. She began stripping as she reached the bank. A small waterfall cascaded to their right.   
Once she was naked, Zen'i waded in gracefully. "That's pretty cold." she stated blandly. She swam out and turned to face the bank. "You coming in?"  
"I'm clean."  
She grinned. "You're chicken."  
"I am not."  
"Oh yeah? Prove it."  
The barefoot Namek grumbled and stripped his shirt and pants.  
"I don't know what your afraid of, it's not like you have anything to shrivel up!" she joked and did the backstroke. The nude Namek resembled a freakish, green Ken doll. After more than a decade of living together, she could get away with saying such a thing.  
"Shut up!" he snarled and dove into the water. "Tsumetasa!!" Polian shouted as he surfaced. "Shit that's cold!!"  
Zen'i laughed at him. He grinned evilly and swam towards her. She cried out and tried to swim away, but he reached out, grabbed her foot and yanked her under the water.  


Twenty seconds went by and he started to get nervous. 'Don't panic,' he thought. 'She won't sink... will she?'  
As his anxiety grew and he was just about to dive under to find her, he felt a sharp pinch on his left gludious maximus and screamed in shock.  
Zen'i surfaced, coughing and sputtering from laughing so hard. She saw the look of death he was shooting her and she tried her best to suppress her delight. "Aw hahaha... I'm sorry. It was just too good to pass up."  
He scowled at her. "Come here."  
"But it was just a joke..."  
"Come. Here."  
She swam closer, eyebrows arched in worry. 'Wow, is he really pissed?' she wondered.  
Polian grabbed her, pulled her in close and embraced her. Zen'i sighed and did likewise. "Freak," she whispered.  
"We haven't been this close in a while, have we?" he asked.  
"Mmmhm. Maybe once Chibi-chan gets her new look, she'll be out more often. No one will ask her why she's out so late without her mommy and daddy."  
"I KNEW there was something in it for us." Polian grinned. His crooked fang protruded. He didn't have to bow, being that they were both in the water, to kiss her.

*  
  
Chibi stood with her fists clenched for a moment, staring to the point where she lost focus at the right hand of her new body which was hanging out slightly from under its sheet. Her father watched from a distance, leaning up against a wall with his arms folded.  
"Chibi-chan, if you need more time, we can take it." Zen'i crouched down and looked her in the eyes.   
The tiny Jinzoningen shook her head. "No. I'm more than ready, Kaasan." She stopped staring and stepped up to the neighboring lab table. Zen'i straightened out her dress and fixed her hair before proceeding. She smiled in apology for her meticulousness, then parted the hair just to the top right of her left ear and inserted the data transfer cable into the hidden port.   
"Tousan," Chibi called. "Please hold my hand."  
He nodded and came to her side.  
The transfer device was quite simple compared to the one used to convert the human Chibi-chan into an android had been. Zen'i attached the cable to the new body in the same location and readied the equipment.   
"All right. When I count to zero, I'm going to begin the transfer. You won't be able to communicate with us till 100% of you is relocated. If you feel that the procedure is going awry, use the abort code but ONLY if you're certain something is wrong. Do you have any other questions?"  
"No. I'm ready." She closed her eyes.  
Zen'i nodded. She was terrified. She counted back from five. "Go. Shi. San. Ni.... Ichi..... Zero," and pressed a large red button.  
There was a whirring of fans as the processor kicked into high gear, but otherwise, there was silence.  
"How long will this take?" Polian asked, gripping the teen's hand tightly.  
"About 3 hours. Any faster and I'd risk loosing data."  
He nodded and stood there for the entire duration; one hand in Chibi's, one hand in Zen'i's.

**  
  
As the clock counted down, Zen'i trained her unblinking eye on it. Ten minutes. Five. One... thirty seconds... ten... three two.. one..  
An LED displayed the word "done" and Zen'i released Polian's hand. She brought up the stats for both bodies. Chibi Purototaipu Juugogou showed no signs of brain activity whatsoever. Jinzoningen Nijuuichigou was fully operational. Zen'i pulled back the white sheet. Android 21's cheeks were flush with life. Her chest rose a fell with each breath.  
"Well?" Polian asked, anxiously.  
"She has to wake up. This may take a few minutes." Zen'i wanted to scream. 'I hope... Come on, Sweetie...'  
21 sighed and her head rolled a tiny bit to the left, away from Zen'i.  
"Chibi-chan? Can you hear me sweet-heart?"  
Her head rolled to the right. She slowly blinked her grey eyes open. They were slow to focus. She remained lying down.  
"Nod if you can hear me."  
She did so, in a jerky, inhibited way. She began to look upset.  
"It's all right, it'll take a while to warm up. You need to set all your synapse connections and motor controls. Don't think too hard about it, just let your Subconscious Operating System figure it out."  
Her head tilted back a little and her eyes focused on the Namek. She struggled to sit up.  
"Take is easy!" Zen'i warned. "You can go slow. It's ok. This model is far more like a human than anything Gero ever created. Your inputs are far more sensitive, and you're essentially a new born. Human babies don't walk and talk the moment they're born, and neither will you. Give it a few hours."  
"Chibi-chan," Polian stroked her hair. "Did you understand that?" he asked.  
She nodded, a little smoother than the last time. This didn't help ease his concern. Her eyes glistened. She tried to speak, but it came out in little squeaks and sighs.   
Zen'i chuckled a little at this. "Take your time, Sweetie."  
"A..ai.." she stuttered. "Ai..shi...teru."  
Zen'i and Polian's eyes went wide with amazement. "We love you too!" she beamed.  
Finally the muscles in her face fell under her control and she beamed back. Chibi-chan tried to get her body under control and sit up. She strained as her spine curved, her abdominal muscles tensed. Suddenly she stopped and blinked down at her adult body. "Kaasan!" she shouted. "These things are HUGE!"  
Polian and Zen'i fell over. Chibi-chan started to laugh a deep, rich belly laugh. When the parents got to their feet, she was sitting up with tears running down her face from laughing so hard. She clutched the sheet to her perfect breasts; so huge in her eyes.  
She got a hand from her mother and slid off the table. Zen'i gently removed the cable and closed the tiny temple-port. Chibi-chan wrapped the sheet around herself, wobbled a bit, but held her mother's arms to gain balance. She smiled down at her.  
"Kaasan!" she shouted again and put her hand on top of her head. Zen'i was only five foot six. Chibi-chan now stood at the model-height of five foot nine.  
"Figured you'd want to be tall." She smiled.  
Chibi looked up at Polian and grinned. She gave each of her parents huge hugs. Over her mother's shoulder, she caught a glimpse of her former, lifeless body and turned around quickly.  
"Why don't you two go on home. I'll catch up." Zen'i offered.  
"Are you sure?" Polian asked.  
She nodded. "You had to do it last time, remember?"   
"Last time...? Chibi whispered.  
"Come on Chibi-chan," her father urged and led her out into the sunshine. "Let's go home."  
"Wait. While I was asleep I was thinking..."   
Zen'i blinked. 'She could think while that was happening?!'  
"Since you both got new names when you changed who you were.. I want a new name too."  
"Oh. Uh.. sure Sweetie. Do you want us to pick one?" Zen'i asked hopefully.  
"No. I know what I want." She turned to her father. "I want to be called Emaraude."   
"Ema...?"  
"...Raude!" she chimed. "For the color of my hair, I guess. It was my favorite of all the others I thought of. Or Ema-chan for short I guess."  
Zen'i smiled. "Ema-chan it is."  
She grinned. "The first thing I'm gonna do is get that big, blue vase down from the top of the fridge!"  
Zen'i laughed and waved.  
Emaraude and her father stepped out of the lab. In a few moments she lifted off the ground and they flew home.

*  
It was hard, laying her baby to rest. Although Chibi-chan's soul lived as Emaraude, Zen'i knew that things would be different from now on. No more kawaii party dresses. No more permission slips to sign. No more lying to people about her 'mysterious disease' that kept her small all those years. But also no more tears.  
Perhaps never again would she have to hear the poor girl sob into her pillow at night because the kids at school tormented her daily. Never again would she see her sad, distant looks. Even in the first fifteen minutes Zen'i had seen her daughter smile more than she had in months.   
This is what she wanted. Ema-chan was happy. But Chibi-chan was dead.   
The tiny body weighed nearly 200 pounds, just a hundred shy of her mother. The new model was super-light, weighing in at a very normal 160 pounds. Zen'i removed the other end of the transfer cable and picked the body up.  
All week she had debated destroying it, but decided that perhaps one day, she would need to rescue someone else. She placed it gently into a protective chamber and sealed it up. The label, in large, black, simple typeface, simply read "Little 15".  
"Good-bye, Chibi-chan." Zen'i lifted the chamber up and plugged it into a jack in the floor on the opposite side of the room. A sliding door hid the discarded body from sight. She tidied up the lab a little before she was ready to leave and start a new chapter in the family's life.

*  
  
The air warmed as Zen'i moved further south and closer to home. She breathed in the scent of orange blossoms and sighed. She didn't notice the three figures on the horizon till they were nearly upon her.   
The Jinzoningen stopped abruptly and clenched her fists. An ache; a hollow sort of nausea came over her. She did not know them. She could tell even before she could make out their faces; their grey, bird-beaked, alien faces, that she had a good reason to dread their appearance.  
"You," one of them called out in an abnormally loud voice. "We search for Vegeta, Prince of the Saiyans. Do you know of his whereabouts?"  
"He's dead. Who are you?" she asked back, alarmed.  
"You knew him?"  
"Who are you!?" she demanded again, not giving the strangers any more information till she knew what they were up to.  
"You need not concern yourself with that."  
Zen'i suddenly noticed that none of the three beings' long, thin, beaks were moving. The sound she thought was so loud wasn't a sound at all, but in her head. She flew back a few yards and thought quickly.  
"There is no need to fear, android," a different voice soothed her. "We will not harm you."  
She hovered in place. "Why do you want to know about Vegeta?"  
"We have a score to settle with him. You claim he is no more?"  
"Long dead. Please leave this world in peace."  
"Peace," a third voice repeated. "How ironic. That is our goal." The 'speaker' held up his hand. Cupped in his four-fingered palm was a small mound of fine, white dust. Without seeming to do anything, he blew the dust in Zen'i's direction. The breeze whipped it all around her. She tried not to breathe, but it was everywhere, in her eyes, her mouth, her pours. She sneezed once, violently and fell to the ground a half a mile below, like a stone.  
"She told the truth. Vegeta is dead." The shortest one turned to his companions.  
"Then we must find an heir. Someone must pay for a galaxy's suffering."  
The tallest swooped down to the ground and picked up the motionless Jinzoningen. "She may be useful."  
"We cannot wake her," the shortest reminded him.  
"As a pawn."  
All three nodded and continued to fly towards the south.  
  
*  
  
Koneko stretched out on the lounge chair in the back yard and sipped a tall glass of iced tea. "This is life!" she cheered and looked up through her sunglasses at the nearly cloudless sky.   
"Don't get too comfy," Tamashii reminded her as he came out of the house. "The kids will be back next month."  
"Oh poo," she stuck out her tong. "Don't rain on my parade, Tama!"   
He leaned down and kissed her as he passed.  
"You comin', Gohan-san?"  
"Right behind you!" he called and came jogging out of the house in his bare feet and a pair of Namekjin harem pants.   
"Don't forget your sun-block!" Bulma tossed him a bottle of 15 SPF as she too emerged from the house.  
"Thanks, hun!" He caught it easily and turned to say something to Tamashii. Instead he took a step back and motioned to Bulma. "Get back in the house..."  
Tama looked where he was staring. Three, cloaked, long-beaked men hovered in the sky. One of them held Zen'i by the waist like a doll.  
"Zen'i!" Bulma cried out.  
"GET BACK IN THE HOUSE, BULMA, NOW!"  
Stunned by her husband's urgency, she did as she was told and ran back inside. Koneko jumped to her feet and stared, slack jawed at the aliens. Tama stepped up.   
"What have you done to my sister!?"  
"We seek the spawn of Vegeta," the strange, loud, hollow voice announced. The short one pointed to Koneko.   
"What for!?" she barked.  
"Retribution."  
"Let Zen'i go!" Tama cried and charged the group.  
"Tama, NO!" Koneko screamed and raced after him.   
Again, one of the beings produced the same fine powder and sent it flying towards the Z Senshi. Horrified, Koneko watched her husband fall only moments before she herself sneezed and lost consciousness.

****************  


Koneko blinked rapidly to clear away the fine grit which was dissolving in her eyes. She coughed and sputtered. Tama and Gohan were doing the same, rubbing their eyes and choking on the sand.   
"Kuso tare!" she screamed and flew at the three. A wave of energy knocked her backwards. She tucked and rolled on the ground, growled and leapt back up again.  
"Koneko! Wait!" Gohan yelled. He scrutinized the aliens and whispered to his friends. "Let's find out what they want first."  
"We want her," the short one pointed to Koneko. She shuddered.   
"Gohan-san, they're not talking, it's telepathy."  
"You are observant," the short one nodded. "There is no need for you to whisper. We can hear your thoughts."  
"There is no reason for you to resist," the middle one added. "We have already succeeded. You will only increase your suffering should you try to fight us."  
Zen'i stirred in the tallest's arms. She was alarmed to find herself in such a position. The tall one regarded her for a moment before releasing her. Quickly, she joined her friends.  
"What the hell is going on?!" Tama asked as he took his sister by the arms.   
"I ... I don't know...." she looked lost. "Where's Polian and Chibi?"  
"I don't know..." Tama replied. His eyes darted over to the north. "There!"  
Polian and Emaraude were closing in on them fast.  
"NO!" Zen'i screamed at them. "Go away! Hide!!!"  
It was obvious that they saw the trouble and were speeding up to reach the scene.  
The largest of them hovered forward. The smallest one pointed at Koneko. "You are the spawn of Vegeta, Destroyer of Worlds."  
She sweat a little. "Well, Kaasan said he was a bad guy, but I really don't think..."  
Gohan stepped forward. "What does what Vegeta did in the past have to with the daughter he hardly knew?"  
"His blood runs in her veins. It is his blood we are destined to spill as payment for the suffering of millions of innocent beings who met their end at the hands of the evil Vegeta, Prince of All Saiyans." He lowered his hand and his beaked head. The first, largest alien sped forward and flung his arms around Koneko. She wasn't able to dodge and he held her fast. Polian and Ema landed and joined Gohan and Tama. They didn't need to be told the situation was serious.  
Koneko growled and struggled. "That's not fair! I've never killed anyone! Well, anyone innocent, anyway..."  
"We care not. Retribution will be delivered," #1 grunted.  
Tamashii grit his teeth. "Who the fuck do you think you are!?"  
The second, middle-height one removed his hood revealing a bald, bird-like head with large, black, hollow eyes. "We are the Batsu-jin. We will kill all of you, then all other beings on this planet, then we will kill the spawn of Vegeta, slowly and painfully."  
"All right, Gohan-san," Tama snarled. "Can we kill them now?!"  
Gohan narrowed his eyes, made sure Bulma had gone inside with a quick glance behind him and nodded.  
  
****************  


Gotenks slammed his fist into the air, missing Pan. She swooped down and around to come up on him from behind.  
"Too slow!" she shouted and reeled back for her attack. Suddenly she and the fused boys stopped. They looked to the north-west.  
""Kame Sen-nin! Did you feel that!?"" he cried down to the ground below. The old man came out of his house and stared in the same direction.  
"Yes, yes I do."  
The children looked to him and he nodded. Gotenks parted into Goten and Trunks and they blasted off as fast as they could.  
"Such a huge and sudden power increase. I don't like the looks of this. Good luck, children."

****************  


The fight began well, but was turning rapidly into a one-sided battle. The Z warriors' attacks were bouncing off the misleadingly weak-looking Batsu-jin and they were hardly fighting back.  
Koneko struggled in the largest Batsu-jin's iron grip.   
"There is no reason to struggle. We cannot be stopped now."  
"The hell you can't!" she gnashed her teeth and powered up to Super Saiyan. Koneko pushed at the alien's arms and panic started to rise. 'Why can't I move!?' She screamed and gave it all her might, but he was a rock. All she could do was watch as they started to go on the offensive.  


Ema crawled out of what was left of the sun porch and covered her face just as an energy beam found it's target.  
"EMA!!" Zen'i screamed and fired another useless barrage of attacks from the ground. She walked backwards towards her daughter. Polian took up where she left off, letting her go to the wounded girl.   
"Kaasan..." Ema whispered. Most of the skin on her face had been blasted away to the metal underneath. Her forearms, which she had raised to protect herself, were gone.  
She went limp.  
"Ema..." Zen'i's eyes flickered with tears. She laid the body down and charged back into the fray.  


Gohan broke #2's hold and spit blood. He saw Polian take up #3 and noticed Tamashii fade in behind his opponent. He backed up and began to chant.  
"Kame..."  
Tama nodded and prepared for the old double-whammy. #2 bowed his beak and braced himself. As Gohan launched the Kamehameha, Tama let his own attack fly. To both of their surprise, the alien disappeared. The attacks passed each other and Gohan and Tama crashed to the ground, struck down by friendly fire.

#2 re-appeared next to #3 who was fending off Polian and Zen'i. They spilt the duty. Zen'i thrust her fist into #3's abdomen. His emotionless face almost seemed to sneer as he grabbed her arm and with incredible strength threw her over his shoulder. She flew through the air for a short while before he caught up with her and croquetted her into the ground.  


"Tama!" Koneko watched in horror, but kept one eye on her husband. Finally, he pulled himself up and staggered towards Gohan. A good deal of his shoulder had been blown off, but he was alive.  
"Gohan-san..."  
Gohan was not in such good shape. His chest had suffered the brunt of Tama's attack. He was alive but unable to move.  
"Get these bastards..." he coughed. Tama nodded and looked to Koneko.   
"I'm all right! Fuck them up!!!" she screamed.  
He nodded once, winced as Gohan sighed his last breath and flew to his sister.  


#3 punched Zen'i repeatedly in the face while holding her up with his other hand. She hung loosely, struggling to retain consciousness. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched #2 form a large energy ball and let it fly at an already severely wounded Polian. The Namek was completely obliterated.  
"No..." Zen'i choked. Tama came up behind #3 and slammed his fists into his head. He released Zen'i and spun, seemingly unaffected, to face Tamashii.  
"Polian.. Ema-chan..." Zen'i sobbed, too heavily damaged to move. #2 took the opportunity to pick her up and rip the Jinzoningen in half at the waist. She didn't scream.  
Koneko did more than enough screaming for both of them. "Zen'i!!!"  
Tama turned to see what Koneko was looking at and growled with rage. #3 and #2 focused their attention on him, the last standing Z warrior.   
Koneko sobbed and screamed. She tried to look away, but she could not move at all anymore. She couldn't even close her eyes. She cursed and spat and howled, but #1 didn't budge. His only purpose was to restrain her.  
Tama hovered in mid air and eyed his opponents. They hunkered down and balled their hands into fists.   
"Come on!! What are you waiting for?" he cried. They turned their sinister pointed faces towards Koneko for a beat before answering him with their attack.  
"NOOOOO!!!!!"

****************  


Bulma ran back out of the house, startled to see Gohan, Tama, Koneko and Zen'i unconscious and the weird aliens just hovering there.  
"What have you done to them!?" she screamed.  
#2 turned to his companions. "Should we entrance this one as well?"  
"No. She is human and weak," #3 replied. "Save it for others who may come to their aid."  
Bulma tried to wake Gohan, but he was unresponsive even to her slapping his face.   
The Batsu-jin all turned as they sensed the approach of another Z warrior.  
Polian and Ema flew in fast and hovered just out of reach. Polian held his daughter back. "Remember what your mom said. You can't fight."  
"But look! Kaasan is..."  
"I know. I'll handle it. Go help Bulma pull the others inside. I'll get them away from the building."  
Ema gave her father a worried look, but his reassuring smile told her to do as he said.  
"Oi! Dirtbags!" he called out. "You wanna explain to me just what the hell you think your doing to my friends?"  
"Certainly," #2 monotoned and reached for his sack of trance-inducing sand. He was fairly shocked to feel a breeze and the little bag disappear from his hand.  
"Looking for this?" The Namek re-appeared in the same place, offending bag in hand. "Surprised?" he asked. "Let me guess. You put them to sleep with this, right?" He tossed it in the air and vaporized it with his eye-lasers.  
"Perceptive," #2 droned. "Do you also see how restless their sleep is? They are experiencing the worst possible outcome of a battle with us."  
#1 motioned to the fallen Z's. Ema-chan picked up her uncle, who was moving as if he were having a very vivid dream. "You see they are not just dreaming. They are trapped inside their own minds. There is no hope for them now. Once they reach the point of no return, they will sleep forever, believing the world in their minds is the only world."  
Polian frowned. "May I ask WHY!?"  
"We are the Batsu-jin," #2 informed him. "The blood of Vegeta, Prince of All Saiyans runs in that one's veins." He pointed to Koneko. Bulma looked up at them, horrified. "It is his blood we are destined to spill as payment for the suffering of millions of innocent beings who met their end at his hands."  
"That's pretty low. You cowards wanna try actual hand to hand combat, or are parlor tricks all you do?" Polian slammed his four fingered fist into his palm.  
All three nodded their consent and the Namek lead them away from the house.

*  
  
As Polian flew away, Ema picked up her mother with little difficulty and looked up into the sky. 'Please, Tousan,' she thought. 'Don't get hurt.'  
Bulma sat on her knees staring at Gohan and waited for Emaraude to come back out. "Why does this happen to us?" she whispered and held his hand. His eyes moved back and forth under the closed lids. His head flicked from side to side as his own nightmare progressed.  
Ema ran back out and scooped Gohan and Koneko up, each over a shoulder. "Come on Bulma-san, we better get inside."  
She stood up and nodded. Ema had placed them all on the rattan rug on the floor of the sun porch. She collected pillows from the couches and placed them under their heads. The Jinzoningen didn't thrash as much as the half-Saiyans, but they all had pained expressions on their faces as horrific scenes played inside each of their heads.  
Bulma sat between Gohan and Koneko and shook her head. "What can we do?!" she asked, becoming more frustrated and scared with each passing moment.  
"Wait for my tousan to get back, I suppose. I feel as useless as you do, Bulma-san."  
She looked up at the tall, strikingly beautiful android.  
"That's the price we pay for beauty, ne?" she laughed weakly. Ema sat down beside her and watched her mother and uncle. "You're mom did a fantastic job," Bulma commented.  
"Thanks, but I don't think now's the time to..."  
"I have to talk!" Bulma shouted. "I'll go crazy worrying otherwise. Please talk to me Chibi-chan."  
Ema nodded and tried to make conversation with her; anything to help.

****************  


"TAMA!!!!" Koneko's throat was raw from screaming. #3 held Tamashii by the head in one four-fingered hand. He turned to give Koneko a better view, then proceeded to tear his head from his shoulders.  
"NOOOO!!!!!" she choked as she sobbed. Completely paralyzed, Koneko was unable to blink the salty tears from her eyes.   
#2 turned his hooked beak towards her. "There. All you love is dead. We will now cross this world and take the lives of everything as payment for the massive number of dead left by Vegeta."  
She could feel the grip loosen. She blinked and pushed as hard as she could to speed up the process.  
"Wait." #3 pointed towards the house. "There is another being inside."  
"No..." she gasped. "Kaasan..."  
#2 pointed to the east. "And three more are coming in fast."  
"What...?" she asked, dazed from what she had experienced so far. "Kodomo-tachi..." she whispered. "Kids. No... NO!"  
Bulma ran out of the house and screamed in horror as she saw the slain bodies of her husband and their friends.  
"KAASAN! RUN AWAY!!!" Koneko shouted, her voice cracking.

Bulma's eyes widened, but she saw the children coming as well. "Goten, Pan, Trunks! Get out of here! Fly away!!!" she tried in vain to warn them. #2 leveled his hand and fired a huge blast that not only destroyed Bulma, but a good portion of the house as well.  
#1 and #2 took turns picking off the children. Trunks, Goten and Pan, blinded by rage and shock tried as hard as they could to fight the monsters. Koneko could hardly speak at all by the time her only son was incinerated before her eyes.  


The grip loosened again. This time, Koneko slid uselessly out of it and fell to the ground. She lay where she landed, sobbing and staring out at the front yard which had become a killing field. The lawn chair she had been sun-bathing in only a half and hour ago was still standing, ridiculously, in the middle of the carnage. Her mind reeled.  
"We will return after the sun has set on this part of the world. By then all life here will be no more. Then we will take your life," #2 raised his hood over his bird-like head.  
All three Batsu-jin flew towards the city. Within moments, large bursts of light could be seen on the horizon as they began their onslaught.  


Koneko got to her hands and knees, then managed to sit back on her folded legs and wipe an arm across her face. She sat there for a few minutes with her eyes closed, praying that when she opened them the last half an hour would have been a horrible dream and nothing more, but the bitter-sweet stench of blood that she knew so well from years of living during the holocaust, told her that it was all real. They were all dead.  
She opened her eyes. The bright sun shown down from a still mostly cloudless sky. Her friends and family, those of them who weren't completely destroyed, were laying out over the lawn. She crawled on her hands and knees, too weak to stand, towards her husband's body. His head was just to the left.   
Koneko picked it up as if it were a soccer ball and pulled it into her lap. His clear, blue eyes were vacant. They stared back at her, expressionless and hollow. Koneko bowed her head and kissed the top of his. She closed his eyes, hugged the decapitated head tightly to her and lost control. She rocked and clutched the head as she wept, bitterly, devastated that they were gone and there had been nothing she could do to stop it.  


A few minutes later, she thought about herself for the first time. She couldn't take it another second. If she sobbed one more time, she'd explode. But maybe if she took her own life, then the pain would go away. How hard would it be, to turn her own energy on herself? Could she do it? But she had been to Hell as a suicide once already. If she went to Hell she would never be reunited with her loved ones. What could she do!? The pain just went on and on. It didn't diminish or fade. It was real.   
She had never attached herself to other people during the holocaust for that very reason. People suffered and died. She was glad that she didn't know who her parents were, because there were so many children who had been orphaned or who saw their parents killed who were so sad all the time. She loved no one, and it suited her just fine. But then it ended.   
She ended it.   
She was free to love and BE loved and it felt wonderful! To find her mother, marry Tamashii and have Trunks were the three most important events in her life. She remembered the day she found out she was pregnant with the Jinzoningen's baby. They were both so happy and astounded. Everyone was amazed and happy for them, and even more happy when her mother announced that she too was expecting. Their children would be the same age. Their house would be full of laughter and happy times for years to come.  
It had been a charmed existence, this last decade. Peace had settled onto the world like a warm, wool blanket.   
They had gotten soft. That must have been it. How else could three scrawny aliens take out ALL OF THEM!?  


Koneko twitched with anger and frustration. Her tangent was interrupted by a slight movement she caught out of the corner of her eye. Quickly, she put down Tama's head and ran to remnants of the sun porch. Something was moving in there. She stopped just short of the rubble and listened. There it was again, faint, but there; a soft scratching sound and a thin piece of venetian blind moving just ever so slightly. Koneko ran in and began digging the material away.   
Under almost 3 feet of rubble was Zen'i. The lower half of her body was nowhere to be found and her right arm was missing. Even though she was pinned under tons of rubble she was able to grasp a piece of the blind with her remaining hand and move it enough for Koneko to see where she was. She was alive.

****************

Polian sneered at the aliens and tried to estimate their power or even if they feared him at all. They were expressionless and seemed unfazed by his threats.   
"Which one of you wants my fist down their throat first?" he snarled.   
The smallest, #3 hovered forward. He removed his cloak, revealing a wiry frame covered with odd, shell-like armor. Polian nodded and charged.   
The Batsu-jin caught his punches, but just barely. He pushed back and lifted his head up. In a sudden move, he flew forward and brought his long, pointed beak down, trying to stab the Namek. Polian faded and punched the right side of his face. #3 flew backwards from the force. #2 then removed his cloak and took his turn.  
As Polian threw punches at the second attacker, he began to get a better idea about how powerful they were. The Batsu-jin were slow, but strong. Their techniques were blunt and simple. He estimated that they were not accustomed to having to fight, judging by the effects of their sleeping powder. He was musing on this when #3 came up from behind and pierced his left shoulder with his beak.  
Polian cried out and backed off. It was a diversion, he could tell, meant to get #2 away from him. Polian's fang poked out over his lower lip. "You really think that'll slow me down?" he asked facetiously and flexed his shoulder. The wound healed in moments.  
He massaged the new flesh a bit before taking a stance. All three Batsu-jin were now without their cloaks. "Damn. You sonsabitches are ugly motherfuckers, aren'tcha?"  
"Our looks do not matter. We will finish you," one of them monotoned into his head.  
A sweat drop hovered over Polian. "What? No snappy come-back? You guys suck at this." He wasn't surprised when all three came at him at once. "Shouldn't try and perforate a brother!" he shouted and powered up.

****************

Koneko wordlessly excavated her friend and ran with her over the rubble to the hidden lab entrance. The grass-hologram shivered as she jumped down the shoot. The lights turned on automatically. Koneko landed and ran to the nearest lab table.  
"Can you hear me?" she asked quickly. Zen'i tapped her finger against the table three times. "I'm going to do my best. Let me in."   
Zen'i obeyed and shut her protection off. Koneko jacked in and brought as many systems back online as she could. Simultaneously she worked on the hardware, repairing or essentially tourniquetting off what needed it. After a short while, Koneko ran out of things she could do and jacked out.  
"Zen'i? Can you speak at all?"  
"Koneko..." Her voice was at it's most basic. She sounded like a speak-and-spell. "I can hear you. Can you hear me?" Her lips didn't move. The voice emanated from her chest. Half of Zen'i's face had been so badly damaged that Koneko had to bandage it up. Her left arm was relatively unhurt, but she looked like a mannequin which had been dismantled at the waist.   
"Yes. I can."  
"Are they all dead?"  
"Yes."  
"Why are we still alive?"  
Koneko leaned against the wall and stared at her.  
"Are you still there? I can not see you." Koneko was out of the line of sight of her good, left eye.  
"Yes. I'm here Zen'i."  
"What are we going to do?"  
"I don't think there's anything we can do, Zen'i, 'cept wait." The tears poured down her face. "An' pray to Kami-sama that we'll all be together soon."  
"Kami-sama." Zen'i repeated. "Can you take me to Kami-sama?"  
Koneko's eyes widened. "Of COURSE!" She picked up what was left of the Jinzoningen and flew up through the shoot and off towards the lookout.

**On to Chapter THREE**


	12. THE END

**Fumetsu no Senshi-tachi Z : Batsu**

_An Alternate Mirai Dragon Ball Z Fan Fiction by Aoi Kami Sarah_

**FNSTZ : Batsu - Chapter Three**

Ema brushed a stray strand of her mother's hair back in place and turned away. She looked out the window.  
"I hate waiting."  
Bulma nodded. "So I guess everything went smoothly."  
"Hm?"  
"With the transition." Bulma nodded towards her.  
"Oh, yeah. It was fine. Didn't take me long to get used to it." She knew Bulma wanted to talk, but she just didn't have the heart. The woman was staring at her. Ema blushed.  
"I'm sorry." She shook her head. "You just made me think about my kids."  
"Oh my god, Bulma-san. Where are they?!"  
"They're with an old friend. He called me just a few days ago, almost as if he knew I was worried about them. They're practically on the other side of the world right now."  
"Don't you think that they'd feel what's going on and come and try to help?"  
Bulma pouted. "I hope not."  
Ema remembered watching Trunks and Goten spar. "Who am I kidding. They'd probably do just fine up against those three."  
It was Bulma's turn to fall silent.

*  
  
Polian grabbed #2's fists and swung him around, slamming him into #1, and both of them into a rock outcropping. #3 retreated and waited for the others to emerge. Polian laughed and waited as well.  
"Is that it? Damn, I've had better workouts in my sleep."  
#2 wiped a yellowish-colored blood from his chest. "It is time to increase our advantage."  
#1 nodded and hung his head. #3 did the same. #2 hovered closer till all three were standing in a sort of circle. A white light began to glow in the middle until it was too bright for Polian to look directly into. He shielded his eyes.  
'What, are they gonna transform?' he thought. 'Well. This should make things interesting.'  
When the light contracted, hovering in their place, was one, large, muscle-bound version of a Batsu-jin.  
"Neat trick, but let's keep it three-on-one." Polian grinned and split into his tri-form. All three of him took a fighting stance.   
The hulk charged the central Polian and attacked that one, while fending off the other two.

*  
  
"Pan-chan slow down!" Trunks shouted as they raced towards home. "We don't know what's happening!"  
"Well it ain't good, I know that much!"  
"But..."  
"No buts! Hayaku!" She put on an extra burst of speed. They boys had no choice but to follow suit.  


When they came shooting over a mountain they stopped dead in their tracks. The beaked creature was enormous and Polian's tri-form clones were being slammed out of the sky one by one.  
"Holy CRAP!" Goten cried. "What the heck is that thing!?"  
"I don't know," Trunks replied. "But I hate it."   
Pan said nothing, but frowned and led them to the battle ground.  
  
  
"Hora! Badguy!" Pan shouted at the creature. Polian's last clone crashed to the ground and merged back together again. He got to his feet slowly.  
He looked up and grinned. "'Bout time you showed up. I almost took him out before you could get here," he joked and faded. He reappeared next to them.  
"Ok, here's the low-down. Your folks are ok, but this guy put them under a sleep spell or something and if we don't beat him, they may never wake up."  
"NAN DA!?!"  
"No pressure." He slapped Goten on the back. He knew the children, being part Saiyan were far more powerful than he would ever be. He had seen them in action for years. They were all capable of becoming Super-Saiyans and knowing their parents were in trouble would be sufficient motivation to fight. "This thing was three guys and sort of fused to become that," he advised. "Kick some ass and take some names. I'm gonna go tell Bulma you guys are here."  
They nodded. Polian blasted off for Capsule.  


Trunks and Goten looked at each other.   
"Fused, huh?"  
"That's what the man said," Trunks grinned and they performed the fusion dance. Pan rolled her eyes and was about to comment on its lameness again when the massive Batsu-jin charged them.  
Pan looked on as Gotenks fought the beast. They darted across the landscape, exchanging blows. The Batsu-jin was defending, but he was holding back. It defended with its left arm an quickly reeled back its right. Gotenks was sent flying from the impact of the punch to his jaw. He wiped a bit of blood from his chin, leveled his hand and fired a power attack which the beast deflected with its palm and hurtled itself at him.  
Soon, Gotenks found himself on the defensive. The Batsu-jin laced its arms around him and began to squeeze.  
"Come on guys!" Pan shouted, beginning to get worried.  
Gotenks powered up to Super-Saiyan and popped out of its hold.   
""Ok. So I'm impressed. I didn't think you were that strong. This is more fun than I thought it would be!""  
"This is not a game. And if it were, we have already won it."  
""What?"" he raised a brow.  
"The female offspring of Vegeta will not wake from her trance. She will suffer eternally for his misdeeds."  
Gotenks suddenly split in half. "Kaasan!" Trunks shouted. "What have you done to her!?"  
"Trunks! We have to concentrate!" Goten scolded.   
"The ones called Gohan, Zen'i Koneko and Tamashii are under our spell. Soon they will go beyond the point of no return."  
Pan-chan swooped in to hear better. "No! There's got to be some way to stop that!"  
The Batsu-jin turned his pointed head. "Only if we were to perish, and that will never happen." It fired a blast practically point blank at Trunks and he fell from the sky.  
"Trunks!" Goten and Pan dove down to his rescue. He was hurt, but struggled to get to his feet.  
"Crap! What do we do now! We're not strong enough on our own to take that thing on!" Pan whined. Goten stared at her. "Oh no. Nononononono. Not that. ANYTHING but that!"  
"Pan-chan!" Goten whined back. "Think about Otousan and the others!"  
Pan smoldered. Trunks shook his head.  
"You ok?" Goten helped him up. He nodded.   
"Let's do it."  
"But..." Pan protested.  
"Pan! There's more at stake here than your reputation!"  
Her lip quivered.  
"Besides. Who's out here to see? Come on! We kick ass.. together!"  
Pan slumped her shoulders. "Fine."  
""Yatta!!""  


The Batsu-jin waited, hovering in the air.   
"""FUUUUUU... SIOOOOONNN... HA!"""  
Pan, Goten and Trunks disappeared. In their place stood what looked like a young warrior, clothed like Gotenks, with a violet shirt, white pants and a dark blue sash. Its hair was straight, short and tri-colored aqua, lavender and black. It slowly lifted off the ground and faced the Batsu-jin.  
"""Listen here, ugly!""" It pointed at the beast. """I don't appreciate you messing with my family!!"""  
"And who are you?" the alien asked.  
"""I am your end! I am Paotenks!!!""" It cried and went Super-Saiyan.

*  
  
Polian landed and jogged into the porch.  
"Well!?" Bulma leapt to her feet.  
"The kids are gonna take it from here."  
Her face turned crimson. "You left my children in the hands of those monsters!?!"  
"It's all right, Bulma. They can handle it. Trust them."  
Ema stood up from her post at her mother's side. "The Saiyan brats are fighting these things? This I gotta see!" She ran out.  
"Ema! Don't get too close!"   
She nodded. "Tousan. Take care of Kaasan!"  
Bulma looked like she was going to explode. "You let your own daughter go SIGHT-SEEING!?! This is serious!"  
Polian put his hands on her shoulders. "Without their bag of magic dust they were cream puffs. What you should be worried about is what's going on right here." He sat down in lotus position next to Zen'i and stroked her perspiring head. They all thrashed and moaned as the dreams worsened.

****************  


Koneko streaked across the sky carrying the mutilated Jinzoningen. Was there enough time? she thought. Could Dende just make all the dragonballs appear and they could wish all of this nightmare away? Wasn't there a rule about being dead where you could only come back once? If there was, then... She'd only get the children back. Don't think about it, she thought. Deal with it when you get there.  
The tower appeared on the horizon and she put on an extra burst of speed. Koneko hugged Zen'i to her tighter like a ruined doll.  
  
****************

Ema clutched her fists as she watched her amazing friends make short work of the alien. "Go guys, go! Kill that ugly piece of shit!" she cheered then quickly ducked down out of sight.

Paotenks cried out and slammed its fists into the beast over and over again.  
"""This is for Zen'i!""" it shouted and punched it in the stomach. The alien doubled over. Then Paotenks upper cut it into the clouds. """That's for Tousan Tamashii!""" It faded and caught the alien, then kicked it back down to Earth. """And that's for Tousan Gohan!"""  
When the Batsu-jin slammed into the ground it broke apart into three individuals.   
"""The sins of Vegeta are not ours!""" it cried. """I will not stand for your sick idea of justice!"""  
"This is not justice," They all spoke into its mind. "It is retribution."  
"""This is the part where you're supposed to turn a new leaf so I don't have to kill you and you just messed it all up.""" Paotenks powered up. """This is for Okaasan Koneko!""" it shouted and the massive energy ball engulfed all three Batsu-jin, destroying them utterly.

****************

Koneko zoomed up the spire and crested the lip of the lookout and her heart sank. The palace was destroyed. Still clutching her friend she ran into the mess.  
"Dende-sama!!!? Popo-san!!!!?" she screamed. She saw a green hand sticking out from under a wall and hefted it off of him with her free hand.   
God was dead.  
"Why....?" she whispered. "WHY!!!?"  
"Koneko," Zen'i turned her head. "I hear something."  
"Popo!?"  
"I should hope so. There. Listen."  
Sure enough, there was a faint sound of a man's coughing coming from nearby. Koneko set Zen'i down and dug the genie out of the dilapidated palace. She dragged him over to Zen'i. He left a wide swath of blood in his path.  
"Popo-san? Are you all right?"  
He appeared to have been strangled. His voice cracked and sputtered. "Ka..kami...saaaama.."  
"He's dead, Popo-san. We're all doomed," Koneko slumped her shoulders. She should have known better than to get her hopes up like that. Koneko stood and walked a few paces away. She stared at the edge of the lookout. The sky, so blue, so permanent, seemed to laugh at her. She wished then that she was a plant or a rock, lying on the Earth, soaking in the sun, oblivious of what was happening and impervious to emotional harm.  
Popo stretched out one of his pudgy arms towards the Jinzoningen. "K ka m mi s'ma..." he stuttered. "Wish..."   
In his palm was a small, orange marble. He strained one last time and gave up. Zen'i gently plucked the marble from his hand. "Could this be...?" she asked in her artificial voice.  
"Hm?" Koneko turned and knew instantly. "Yes..." she gasped.   
"It is Dende's wish."  


The wish Polunga, the Namekjin Dragon had given the young Namek for taking on the job of Earth's Kami. The third wish she, Zen'i and Bulma had not wanted to waste. He must have passed it on to Popo before he was killed! she thought. Now all we have to do is wish for the Batsu-jin to have never come here and..."  
"I know what to wish for," Zen'i stated.  
"Demo..." Koneko blinked.   
"Bulma-san always said that if Son Goku had not died, my brother and I would never have done what we did; that he was strong enough to defeat any enemy." Zen'i bowed her head and looked at the marble. "I wish Son Goku had never died of a heart disease."  
Koneko had a half a second to think about what that meant before she could react. "Zen'i, no!!"

*  
  
She blinked and shivered. "That was weird," she said out loud, got a better grip on the large, metal container she was carrying and continued out the door. Someone ran past and bumped into her as she crossed the threshold.  
"Hey! Watchit!" she growled.  
"Sorry sis!" the young, aqua-haired boy chimed and ran out into the sunshine. The back yard was buzzing with party guests. Her mother was chatting with some friends. She smiled at her as she passed.  
"Where do you want this?" she asked the man at the bar-b-que grill.  
"Right next to the other one," Vegeta pointed with a spatula and glared at the aqua-haired boy as he tried to steal a hamburger. "Trunks, I will not tell you a second time. WAIT YOUR TURN!"  
"Gomen, Tousan!"  
She giggled and set the keg down next to the others.  
"Bra-chan!" Bulma called her over. "Come here, someone wants to see you."  
"Coming, Kaasan!" she waved and crossed the yard.   
Gohan and Piccolo were chatting together on a blanket with Gohan's wife Videl and their young daughter Pan-chan. Gohan's father, Goku laughed heartily at something Mr. Satan said. Yamcha and his date unfurled a blanket and Kame Sen-nin, Oolong and Pu'ar joined them.  
"Hey, Bra-chan!" a voice chimed from behind her. She rolled her eyes.  
"Oh, hey Goten."  
He grinned and put a hand behind his head. "I found us a blanket!"  
"That's great," she yawned. "I have to say hi to someone. Hang on."  
"Okies!" he chimed and watched her walk away.  
'Sheesh! he is such a goof ball! I don't know if dating him was such a hot idea.'  


On the other side of the lawn at the picnic tables full of food, Bulma was chatting with Krillin and Juuhatchigou.  
"Oh, hey guys!" Bra smiled. "How ya been?"  
"Pretty good," Krillin replied. "But someone here misses their baby sitter!"  
She smiled. Marron was nearly 10 now. Hardly young enough to need a baby-sitter any more. The girl rolled her eyes. Bra laughed. "You're getting so big! I bet you could probably run the house by yourself by now, ne!"  
"I sure can!" she smiled back.  
"Oh, Bra-chan," Juuhatchigou commented smoothly. "Have you met my brother, Juunanagou?"  
Bra turned her head to where Juuhatchigou was indicating and the party faded away. He was gorgeous. His black hair was so smooth and silky looking, his eyes so blue.  
"Uh... no..." Bra took a step towards him and extended her hand. "I'm Bra Briefs."  
"Nice to meet you."  
They stood and stared at each other for a moment, hand in hand. Bra's heart pounded. 'This is it!' she thought wildly. 'This is love at first sight!'  
Suddenly, her mother was next to her, tugging her sleeve. "Bra-chan. It's time to go."  
"But..." she protested. Not taking her eyes off of Juunanagou. "Come on." She pulled at her arm. Bra reached out for Juunanagou.  
Bulma grabbed her face and turned her head towards her. "Koneko-chan! Come on!"  
"Neko.. I'm not a kitten, Kaasan." 'Juunanagou...' she thought.  
"Koneko-chan! Wake up!"  
  
****************  


Koneko gasped and blinked her eyes. Juunanagou was gone. She was on her back on the floor. Bulma looked down on her, smiling and exclaiming something about being relieved. A ceiling fan turned slowly overhead.   
"But..." she clutched at reality, but it evaded her grasp. She turned her head to the side as her mother, who looked very young, turned her attention to someone to her right.  


Gohan was lying on the floor as well. Bulma was... kissing him? He seemed very confused by this. Koneko shook her head and sat up.   
  
  
She saw him instantly. "Juunanagou!" she shouted in alarm.  
He furrowed his brows, but stared back. "But..." he stuttered. "Wasn't I just... outside?"  
"Juunanagou," she repeated. His hair was shorter. "Wait." Koneko saw Juuhatchigou, and two people she didn't recognize at first. "Polian," she whispered. The information started to come back. "Tamashii..."  
"Koneko," Tama whispered. "But..."  


"Gohan!" Bulma cried. "What's wrong?"  
"I was just... I was at a picnic."  
Zen'i, Tama and Koneko turned to him and nodded.  
"And there was..." Zen'i began to describe what she had seen, but held back. Gohan nodded.  
Koneko's eyes started to tear. "But... are we awake now? Or was that real and THIS is the dream?"  
No one answered her. Bulma shouted her answer. "Of COURSE this is real! This is where you belong! Those.. those THINGS put you to sleep and now you're awake!"  
"But..." Koneko struggled. "Zen'i... wished... and then... Juunanagou..."  
Bulma shook her head. "What are you talking about?!"  
"It was Tama who made the wish," Gohan whispered.  
Tama shook his head. "It was you."  
"It was Koneko," Zen'i added.  
"NO ONE MADE ANY WISHES!" Bulma screamed.  
"It's obvious that they all had different dreams!" Polian shouted. "They must have been so vivid that now that they're awake, they don't know what's real."  
Bulma sniffed. "But I TOLD them!"  
"It's not that easy. Their minds have been warped by the experience." He held Zen'i close to him, she didn't resist, but she didn't embrace him either.  
"Well, they'll get better... won't they?"  
Polian bowed his head. "I don't know."  
Bulma slumped her shoulders. "Oh no. Gohan. Koneko... Minna-san..."  


Silence settled over the room. Bulma sobbed lightly and stared at the floor. Koneko stared at Tama who stared back. Gohan watched Bulma cry, but couldn't bring himself to reach out to her. Zen'i lay against Polian. It felt good, but she was unresponsive, reeling from what she had seen.  


The eerie silence was shattered as what sounded like a stampeding herd of elephants charged into the room.  
"Kaasan! Tousan!" the voices cried.  
Everyone looked up as Trunks, Pan, Goten and Ema ran in. They tackled their parents and hugged them. Tama blinked as he saw Trunks collide with Koneko.  
'Trunks,' he thought and smiled in wonder. 'That's my son. Trunks!'  
Zen'i looked shocked as the teen squeezed her tightly.   
"Kaasan, you're all right!"  
"Ema... Ema-chan, you're alive!" she cried and embraced her.  
"Kids!" Gohan laughed. "You're ok!"  
"Of COURSE we are! We kicked that thing's butt, Tousan! You should have seen it!" Pan exclaimed.  
"Yeah, and Pan-chan fused with us and we were Paotenks and we could hit him so hard it was like WHAM! BAM! DOOGE!" Goten rambled.  
"Aiiii! Goten!!! Don't tell people I fused!" Pan shrieked.  
Bulma just sat back and laughed and cried at the same time.  
"Trunks-kun!" Koneko shouted. She kissed the top of his head and breathed in his scent. "My sweet boy, you're alive! You're all alive!" Koneko looked at each of the now very familiar faces. "This is real, Kaasan! I know it! THIS is real!"  
"See, I TOLD you!!" Bulma laughed over Gohan's shoulder.  


For three days, all ten of them stayed at Capsule, not wanting to be apart.  


**  
~ One month later ~  


Ema brought a bunch of wildflowers inside and took the blue vase down from the top of the refrigerator. She filled it with water, cut the stems and placed the bouquet on the kitchen table.  
She sighed and shifted the position of a piece of goldenrod. "Wow. It's nearly fall," she commented out loud. She turned to go find her mother when the doorbell rang.  
"We have a doorbell?" she laughed. "Who could this be?" she asked and opened the door.  
"Hi, is Chibi-chan at home?" The teenage boy at the door asked.  
"Jeison!" she shouted in alarm.  
"Uh..." he raised a brow. "Have we met?"  
Emaraude blinked. "No! Uh no, but Chibi-chan told me she only had one friend."  
"I guess that's me," he replied. "You look a lot like her, are you related?"  
"I'm her cousin," she lied.  
"Is she at home?"  
"Well, no. Not really. I mean, she left."  
"Already?" he asked, dejected. "She didn't even say good-bye."  
"Well," Ema wrung her hands. "She wanted to. She just got really busy."  
They stood there in the open doorway for a moment. He had a bouquet of roses in his hands.  
"Are those for Chibi-chan?" she asked.  
He nodded.   
"Please, come in."  
Ema added them to the vase and they sat at the table.  
"Please," Jeison looked up. "Tell me the truth."  
"What?" Ema asked, beginning to sweat.  
"Is she sick? Is she dead?"  
"No! no.. uh... not really. She's..." 'THINK!' "Up north."  
"Will she be back?"  
"I'm afraid not."  
"Then she IS dying!" Jeison's brows came together. "Please, Ma'am. Tell me the truth!"  
"Ma'am!" Ema shouted. "I'm only 16 for Pete's sake!"  
"Oh! I'm sorry." He stood up. "I should go, I'm sorry to inconvenience you. Please tell her I said good-bye when you talk to her next."  
"Jeison, wait..." 'Oh, just tell him! What's the worst that could happen?' she thought.  
Zen'i walked into the room with an empty glass in her hand. "Chibi-chan, do we have any more iced tea or should I make some more. Oh. Hi there. I didn't know you had company, Sweet-heart."  
"Kaasan...." she growled. "It's EMA-chan.. remember...?"  
"Oh. Oops. Gomen ne..." she blushed and backed out of the room.  
Jeison stared at Ema. "You're Chibi-chan...? But how?!"  
"Jeison, I can explain," she raised her hands and stood up. Jeison backed away.  
"Is this part of your disease? Is this why you have to leave?"  
"No! I never had a disease, I'm..." 'Well, here goes nothing!' "I'm a Jinzoningen. My mother, who just blew my cover, is one of THEE Jinzoningen. My uncle's the other one. I was human and I was sick and she and my dad cared so much about me that they made me into Chibi-chan. This is just an upgrade. I'm still the same person."  
Jeison's mouth hung open loosely.   
"I'll understand if you call me a monster and walk away right now."  
"No." He blinked and shook his head. "You asked me the other day why I treated you so nice. It's because, I sort of identify with you. I have a secret too that I can't tell the other kids cause they'd all fear or hate me."  
Ema sat back down and bid him do the same. "Really?"  
He nodded. "When I was 6 years old I was killed in an attack. Then a little under a year later, I came back from the dead. I'm one of the Resurrected."  
"Oh...." Ema sighed. "Is THAT all!"   
"You, you mean, you're ok with that? It's really freaky and weird to be resurrected!"  
"Feh. No it's not! Most of my friends have all been!"  
"Really?"  
"Yeah! I can tell you all about it!"  
"You can! I've always wondered why!"  
Ema smiled. "I tell you what. I'll explain what happened to you, if you don't tell anybody my secret."  
"Done," he blurted. "Will you come back to school this year?"  
"I dunno yet."  
"Aw, come on. You could be Ema-chan, Chibi-chan's cousin! Just think about all those stupid girls who used to call you names, they'll be lining up to be your friend!"  
"Do you really think so?"  
"Sure! You're gorgeous!"  
Ema blushed beet-red. "You.. really think so?"  
It was Jeison's turn to blush. "Yeah."  
"Ok."  
"You will!?"  
She nodded.  
"Great!" He stood back up. "Well, I gotta get going, but gimme a call. Maybe we can get together some time!"  
She stood too, just an inch shorter than he was. They smiled awkwardly for a moment, then Ema hugged him.  
"I didn't want to leave. Thanks so much!"  
"Hey, no prob." Jeison hugged back. "See ya soon."  
Ema nodded, walked him to the door and leaned up against it with her eyes closed when he was gone.   
'Is it possible?' she asked herself. 'Can everything really work out this smoothly? Yes! It can! I'll go back to school as Emaraude, show up all those jerks who made fun of me, and still be around Jeison!'

"Jeison..." she sighed his name and pushed off the door, but stopped suddenly. Standing in a row on the other side of the room was everyone she knew. It was Wednesday: Card Night.  
"Ooooh!" Trunks chimed. "Ema's got a boyfriend!"  
"Trunks!" Bulma scolded.  
"He's cute, Ema-chan!" Koneko grinned.  
"Make sure he doesn't get fresh with ya!" Tama joked.  
"I guess my goof with your name was pretty serendipitous, ne?" Her mother smiled.  
"Just what is this young man to you?" Polian asked.  
"It's called dating, Polian. It's what teens do!" Gohan informed him.  
"It's only cause she's so hot now," Pan pouted.  
"Ha ha, you're just jealous, Ne-chan!" Goten laughed.  
"Kami-sama..." Ema sighed as they buzzed around her. "I hate Wednesdays."

** END **

This part took me from January 29th 2001 to October 2nd 2001 to write! I have been incredibly lazy, both cause this is the last of FNSTZ I will write and cause I'm working on 10 other things. Arigatou Gozaimashita Minna-san!  
-aks 


End file.
